


Tony Stark´s Home for Wayward Ghosts

by ThatOneGirlBehindYou



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Character Turned Into a Ghost, Drunk Driving, Flashbacks, FrostIron - Freeform, Gen, Ghosts, I refer to Pietro as Peter but that will be explained ok, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Loki Has Issues, Multi, TAGGED CHARACTER DEATH BECAUSE OF GHOSTS OK DON´T BE SCARED, Tony Is a Good Bro, Tony buys a haunted house, but other people do because they´re dumb waffles, i just threw it in because i´m frostiron trash, none of our kids drunk drive because they´re smart cookies, shipping is not a big deal, this is kinda bittersweet?, t´challa owns a bookstore and a bazillion cats, wanda has powers, wanda pietro and peter run a ghosthunting vlog
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-14
Updated: 2018-07-19
Packaged: 2018-09-17 10:15:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 70,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9319238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatOneGirlBehindYou/pseuds/ThatOneGirlBehindYou
Summary: At first it seemed like having ghosts in his house wouldn´t be a big deal, it was actually pretty great if you didn´t mind the swing music at 3:00 a.m. or the soft russian lullabies sung into your ear.Then came the mysterious stranger and the weird cat guy and the teenagers, and Tony´s pretty sure the ghosts are actually the least of his troubles.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [chamiryokuroi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/chamiryokuroi/gifts).



> This was supposed to be posted between last Halloween and Day of the Dead, but Chami and I are really bad at deadlines so here it is, enjoy!

Tony knew the place was different from about a week before he signed the papers. As soon as he stepped a foot past the threshold of the old apartment building he gets a sensation, the peculiar kind one gets when they step into the house of a relative one has never met, when one is unmistakably sure of the relation, but less mistakably so of the level of welcome they ought to expect.

It´s somehow both uncanny and awkward at the same time, but Tony doesn´t plan on leaving the building as it is for long, and even if some of the eeriness remains after the renovations, he figures it might be an interesting anchor point to bring people home for the night. So he signs the property papers.

Six months go by before the building is remodeled as he likes it, but when he pushes open the door to his new loft-style bedroom, he can feel it clear as he feels the hot rays of the setting sun hitting him through the floor to ceiling windows. There´s someone in there with him.

If he can say something about his... guests? Housemates? Invaders? It's that they're subtle. No blood-weeping walls, no midnight wailing, no misplaced objects or night terrors, only the brief, awkward feeling that he's interrupting a conversation whenever he walks into a room. 

After a few weeks he takes to announcing loudly "Sorry guys, just passing through!" before he comes into a room or a "Guys I'm gonna need this for a while, but the living room is free if you wanna move there" if he's gonna take longer, and even that awkwardness is gone then.

They don't really show up until after his first year there, and Tony remembers the encounter with the kind of clarity only blatantly drunk people can muster.

It's the anniversary of his mother's death, and it has found him, inevitably and unsurprisingly, at the bottom of a bottle.

He's just uncapping the second one, when a voice speaks over his shoulder.

"You keep that up and you're going to be much closer to us in no time at all"

The voice, he decides later, has a slight accent, and a hint of self righteousness that doesn't get him a particularly firm standing on drunk Tony's good side.

"You mean I'm gonna start freeloading at an innocent, hard working person's home?" He spits back

"I mean you're gonna die, and your mom is gonna be pissed. I know mine was." Replies the voice dryly and before Tony has the chance to turn around and flip it the finger, the presence behind him fades. 

That gets him on both drunk and sober Tony's bad side, he decides, but then he falls asleep and proceeds to forget everything about it in the morning.

He does remember a voice, but he assumes the brought someone home last night and then kicked them out when they got too sassy.

Sometimes he wishes that had been the end of it, would've been so easy to go on like that.

That night he's watching TV. Or rather, staring fixedly into the direction of the TV, since it's that time in which it's too late for anything good to be on still, but too early for something spectacularly bad to be on yet.

He clicks the remote to go from one "guess the word from mixed letters" show to another, and then the screen flickers. It's less of a The Ring flickering and more of a shitty signal one, but then the new channel's hostess vanishes and a blond guy flashes in front of a white background.

Tony wonders if this is going to be a weird deodorant commercial, or a weird soap commercial, or a weird gym commercial, because god knows there's enough of those and the guy certainly has the physique for it.

Then the guy looks straight at Tony and speaks.

"Forgive Steve, friend. He forgets sometimes that we all walk our own path when it comes to grief."

Tony stares.

He rubs his eyes, and he's debating on whether to ask who this guy is, why is he talking to him through the TV, or why does he talk like a medieval fair nerd, when the screen flickers again and the guy disappears.

The silence grows thick for a while, before he dares doing the only thing that makes sense.

"Was that one of you guys?" He asks to thin air. And then to make sure. "A little sign please? Just to convince me I shouldn't turn myself into the psychiatric ward right now"

He's much more relieved than he ought to be, when a cushion lifts off the couch and lands softly on top of his head.

\--

"Hey Nat" Says Tony as he hangs his coat on the hook by the door. He keeps his eyes fixed on a random point to only see her out the corner of his eye, and he makes her form out.

Natasha never manifests fully or even clearly, she's always a mist of vague reds and blacks.

She says she doesn't want to burden people with her appearance.

Tony and Clint agree that she's doing it because she enjoys the dramatics, but don't comment on it when she's nearby, just on the off chance they're wrong and she decides to let them _see_.

He's gotten acquainted with them all, these past months.

The guy from the TV is Thor, and he's much less of a Norse deity trapped in the ether than an unfortunate but accurately named guy from Minnesota. 

The one that clucks like and old chicken whenever Tony _dares_ going remotely close to a drink containing alcohol is Steve. He manifests only partly, half a guy clad in half a WWII uniform and Tony's afraid to ask what happened to his other side.

Bruce he gets along with the most, even if his form flickers like an old TV, he's a bit too quiet sometimes, and loud explosions make him wince and, sometimes, dissolve entirely and not form again until days later. Which means he's not particularly well fitted to keeping Tony company at his workshop.

That's where Clint comes in, hanging upside down and swinging from ropes and wires Tony can't see. He makes stupid jokes that don't really make sense or that reference things Tony hasn't heard of, but it makes him laugh all the same and it's just what he needs after hours of frustrating experiments.

All things considered, living with ghosts is pretty much like having a pack of cats roaming your house, in that they insist on following you into rooms, sitting next to you and staring longingly at your food, messing up with your electronics and falling asleep on top of you, annoying but tolerable and mostly worth it.

At least until that night.

They're in the midst of playing an evening long game of Monopoly -Tony makes a note to hit Peps and Rhodey on the phone when he notices the people he's been having meaningful conversations with for the last six months are all dead- and Thor is being _insufferable_.

"Don't worry Steve, I'm feeling generous and I'll charge you only one million seven hundred eighty thousand instead of one million eight hundred thousand." He grins at the other ghost, who rolls his eyes (or... visible eye?) and groans. It makes the entire piping of the house groan along, but Tony's gotten used to it.

"You know Thor?" Tony says, chin lazily supported on a propped up hand and spinning one of his property cards with the tip of a finger. "The good thing about you is that you're just enough of a bastard for me to like."

It's like a switch flipped, Thor turns to him and his eyes are bluer than ever, unnaturally so even for a ghost.  
Those same eyes search his face for something Tony doesn't know, and then Thor is gone. Like someone had sucked him into a vacuum cleaner, he spins and twists and disappears.

Tony turns to ask the other ghosts just what the fuck, but an awkward silence has fallen like a blanket over the table.

"That was-" Steve begins to ask.

"Yes." Responds the mist that is Natasha. Steve nods.

"I'll go talk to him" he says and floats up through the ceiling. 

"Guys what's going on?" Tony forces out finally. The ghosts avoid his eyes uncomfortably. 

"You can't help him Tony, it wasn't your fault." Bruce begins, and nerves seem to make him more prone to flickering. "He's OK, it's just..."

"Ghost stuff" Clint pipes in when Bruce's voice fades out. "Just ghost stuff, there's really not much you can do"

And it's right then and there that Tony decides he will do everything it takes, whatever it takes, thrice over and once more for good measure because absolutely no one alive or dead tells Tony Stark he _can't_ do something.

That's how he finds himself standing in front of a shabby looking bookstore after an embarrassing and kinda paranoid Google search.

He pushes the door open and it rings a bell. Like an actual bell. Who uses that anymore? He's glaring accusingly at the old fashioned alarm system and when he turns back to the inside of the store, a white fluffy cat is sitting primply in front of him.

"... So are you the owner?" He asks because hell, it wouldn't be the strangest that's happened to him.

"Nah, Jenyfurr here is my receptionist, she does a fine job of it" responds a deep, rich voice. Tony looks up from the cat, and keeps looking up and up until he's staring into the face of the -presumed owner of Wakanda Bookstore. Tony's still not sure his claim holds more validity than Jenyfur's.

"I'm T'challa, what can I help you with?" The man asks with a dazzling white smile that doesn't feel like a retail smile at all.

"Well... I know how this is going to sound but I have trouble with ghosts at my house" Tony responds quickly, before his nerve runs out.

The man lifts an unimpressed eyebrow. “You do know the kind of bookshop this is right?”

“Well yeah” Tony feels his face heat up. “But you're not supposed to believe me on the first try, that's not how it works in movies.”

“Ghost movies are terrible guides as to how to deal with ghosts. And mostly terrible in general” T’challa says as he turns. “I have some books on exorcisms you could us-”

“Oh no” The man turns again at Tony’s voice, and he hurries to explain. “I don't wanna exorcise them. It's just that one of them, I said something and he disappeared? I don't think he's feeling too well, and I thought I might find some sort of… make your ghost feel alright book?”

"well, that _is_ new" T'challa frowns. "Most people want them out."

"I've kinda... made friends with them, they're all mostly cool." Tony shrugs. "But I said something the other day and one of them just vanished like I straight out told him to fuck off. I just wanna know he's alright"

"I can't haven't exactly got a book on that, but... I think I know a pair of someones who will be more than interested in hearing about your situation. They might even be of help, if you're lucky." T'challa gives him a knowing, amusing look.

"Well, off with the names" Tony says, feeling like the man is toying with him.

In the end T'challa doesn't give him names. Instead he pushes a fat yellow cat -Brad Kitt, he explains- and writes an address in a piece of bitten paper.

\--

The woman that opens the door is well into her thirties, beautiful and confused looking. Tony bites down on his impulse to say something flirty and funny and sticks to his plan, thinking of his ghosts.

"I... was told I'd find Wanda and the Peters here?" He asks, feeling stupider by the second. The woman's face lights up in mirth and she laughs.

"The name's sticking I see" she says, then waves him inside. "They're in my Peter's bedroom, I'll call them. Would you like a drink?"

"I'm fine, thanks" Says Tony, taking a seat on a flowery couch that seems more fitting for the house of an octogenarian than this woman's.

A few minutes later, two gangly kids -the Peters, probably- not older than college age, come down the stairs followed by an equally gangly girl. She's obviously related to one of the guys, their faces an exact copy of each other framed in ruby red and silver grey dyed hair respectively. Kids these days.

"Uh, hello." Greets the other boy. Tony dubs him Peter1 and looks him up and down; crooked glasses, an oversized hoodie and messy brown hair. The kid fidgets, and Tony can't hold the smirk back. "My aunt said you wanted to talk to us?"

Tony's about to make a quip about the pretty aunt, when Thor's dismayed face comes back to him, and he sobers up.

"T'challa told me to come and see you. The guy from the bookstore? He said you might be interested in my cas-"

Suddenly, the three kids are all up on his face.

"You have ghosts?" Says Peter2, awed. "Real, hundred percent sure?"

"Uh... yeah, pretty sure. We talk a lot"

"You talk to the ghosts?" Peter1's face is pale, and Tony rolls his eyes. "That's... the manifestations would have to be nearly solid if that's true!"

"It's true" The girl -Wanda?- says. Her eyes pierce into Tony and he fidgets as uncomfortably as Peter1 a few minutes before. "I can feel their presence around him"

"... so your gimmick is ghosts? Who you're gonna call and all that?" Tony says to break the awkward silence after the girl's words.

"No! Well yeah, but not exactly the same, I mean, we run a vlog like, we go to weird places and try to make contact and film it up, my sister's a medium but I think Peter and I throw off her groove because she can never go into trance when we're there, says we're too noisy but whatever, my point is we haven't had a one hundred percent confirmed case since we started this, only rumors and urban legends, but if you're certain there are ghosts at your house and you've spoken to them this could be our big break man!" Peter2 finishes his spiel with an excited grin. Tony blinks.

"Could someone who speaks at human speed repeat that?" He asks

"The basics are that we run a ghosthunting show on the internet" Peter1 explains with an embarrassed smile. 

Wanda looks back up at him. "I can fix your ghost problem"

Her voice is calm, her eyes relaxed and her pose is completely non threatening, but Tony still feels a shiver run up his spine.

"Yeah... you know what? I'm gonna be out of town for a few weeks starting tomorrow" he lies "but give me a phone number and I'll hit you up when I'm back, how 'bout that?"

\---

"So not yet huh?" Tony asks at the dinner table. Expressions are hard to read, what with Natasha being mist, Bruce flickering uncontrollably and Steve having only half a face, but Clint's nervous fidgeting and the fact that Thor is still evidently absent speak for themselves. "It's been a month."' Tony sighs. "Was what I said really that bad?"

"Thing is, we don't know..." Steve starts, after a long silence and everyone's gazes fixed on him like every other time they have a problem. "Right now Thor is... Non corporeal. We can't communicate with him."

"So you don't know what's wrong with him?! You told me he'd be OK!" Tony exclaims. The ghosts turn their gazes away from him, until Natasha's voice echoes around the room.

"Being like this is different for everybody. We don't know how to make contact with him, but that doesn't mean we haven't tried." 

"Is that really all you have to say?!" Tony drops his fork with loud clink and stands off his chair. "Thor could never come back and all you can say is 'we tried'? Why haven't you told me this before?"

"Because it's-" Bruce tries, but Tony cuts him up -and only feels slightly guilty-

"Ghost business, I get it." He rolls his eyes. "You know? I could've brought in that weird medium girl, but i thought you had it under control and now it turns out that no, you're way in over your heads but you didn't think of telling me anything because low ass humans can't even begin to process your ethereal business. cool guys, A plus friends."

"You sound just like a soap opera right now" Clint rolls his eyes.

"At least I sound like I care about my friend." Tony bites back, then waves any response Clint might have away. "Whatever, if you'll excuse me I'll go do some living business right now, in case you wanna keep trying your best at doing nothing."

\--

He sees the city skylight dim and the lamp posts flash on from the balcony of a penthouse club.

The view is beautiful, but not enough to rid him of the worry and the feeling of betrayal and alienation and of realizing once again, that he's nothing at all like his friends.

A man leans on the crystal handrail beside him. His profile is sharp against the blurry city lights that reflect on his green eyes.

"Bit weird to come to a place like this just to watch the sunset." He says. The stranger's voice is both silk and tar, Tony feels himself getting trapped.

"What else do you suggest?" Tony asks. The stranger smirks.

"I can think of a few things."

Turned out he could. Some of the few things were drinking and dancing, and a cab ride back to Tony's place speckled with wandering hands and knowing smirks.

Some of the other things, Tony would rather think in private.

He'sfeeling pretty comfortable with himself the next morning, even if his guest has already left. He hadn't looked like the cuddling type anyways, all elbows and skinny legs, so there's no loss.

Still, that doesn't mean he doesn't wish for someone to hold when he locks eyes with his reflection in the mirror and the reflected room is covered in wild splashes of blood.

"WHAT THE FUCK GUYS?!" He yells, squeezing his pillow like he wants to strangle it and unable to tear his eyes from the image.

"Yes so... good news is Thor is corporeal again" Steve appears by his side and Tony had never thought he'd be genuinely relieved to look at a person ripped in half. "Bad news is, you'll have to forgive him for the mood swings, his brother has been trying every form of escapism known to man and then some since he died, and Thor finds it kinda hard to deal with."

"His what?!"

Steve looks at him, an eyebrow raised -or maybe both, there's really no way to tell- and gestures to the other side of the bed. "His brother, you know, the guy you brought in yesterday?"

"Wh- I didn't even know Thor had a brother? Isn't he from Minnesota? Why would he be here?!" Tony's starting to freak out because the blood stains on the mirror room are /not/ going away. "Is he mad at me?" He asks finally, when his own reflection begins to bleed from the corners of the eyes.

Steve shrugs. "I don't think so? But I don't know. Never had a brother."

\---

After covering the mirror with a blanket and calling an impromptu house meeting -which consisted mostly of half assed nodding and shrugging and a vaguely threatening "I'd like to meet the little medium girl" from Natasha- Tony calls the number Peter1 gave him.

"Hello?" Comes the teenager's voice through the line.

"Hey. Uh, Tony Stark here, the guy with the ghosts? I'm back from my trip and things are a bit weird, I need your friend to come and help me figure out what the fuck is going on." Tony explains. "No exorcism business tho, tell her to leave that at home, I just want her to help me help a friend of?"

"Aw man!" Peter1 exclaims, and Tony hears what's probably him stomping on the floor. "Wish you'd called yesterday, Peter and Wanda went to Washington today to visit their dad."

Tony frowns, he certainly didn't take them to be public figure jids. "Politician?"

"He's in jail for murder I think. They don't speak about it much."

"... Oh"

"Yeah."

"So, when will they be back?"

"Next week. Is that good for you?"

Tony looks at the wall. There are dancing shadows where there should not be, since the sun is hitting fully through the windows. Besides, no shadow should move like that.

"... It could be better, but I'll wait.”

\---

"Could you tell him to tone it down? I didn't know he was his brother, I just did what I do with everyone I bring home!" Tony exclaims, frustrated. The ceiling of his workshop is peppered with each and every one of his tools and he can't do anything but stare up at them because even the fucking ladder is stuck up there.

"No can do man, sorry." Clint answers next to him. "He's corporeal, but he's like... out of it. We can't get through to him, it's like he can't hear us." He shrugs. "Natasha thinks you should bring his brother in again."

"Are you kidding me? He turned into a fucking poltergeist because I brought him in once! I don't want him to murder me!" 

"She thinks it might snap him back to reason"

"Easy for her to risk it, she's dead" Tony deadpans. 

"It's not like you don't want to have him around."

Tony hums absentmindedly. "No, I guess it's not."

\---

The guy -Thor's brother, he reminds himself, but it's not as weird as he expected- looks extremely amused to find him in the club again, and Tony has no heart to tell him it's less of a 'your charming personality and sensual prowess gave me an obsession' and more of a 'your sudden presence in my house caused your dead brother to attempt to break reality and I kinda need you to attempt to speak to him' kinda situation.

"Hey" he greets, and the guy smirks.

"Come to watch the sunset again?"

"Nah. I thought of a few other things I'd rather do." Tony smiles. This is a game he knows how to play, a game he loves to win. "I don't think I caught your name last time, so it would've been a bit complicated to simply look you up on Facebook."

"You would've wasted your time." The guy shrugs. "Either way, it's common courtesy to give before you take"

So Tony rolls his eyes with a smile, and stretches a hand. "Tony Stark. Your cab ride tonight, hopefully."

"Loki" The guy doesn't take his hand as much as run the tip of a finger over it all the way to his forearm, tracing the outline of a vein. Tony swallows heavily. He's only supposed to bring the guy back to the house, but it's really unfair, when Loki is clearly unaware of the rule.

When he wakes up in the middle of the night, he half expects Loki to be gone, but he's still there, curled over under the sheets and looking like the kind of guy the man at the club would've eaten for breakfast, not a crease in his brow and his mouth a soft, relaxed line.

He smiles. He's not even sure why, it just comes. 

It goes away just as fast when hr notices Thor's translucent form floating on his other side.

"Thor what the hell?!" He whispers hurriedly, half an eye fixed on Loki because he reeeeally doesn't want to be one of the millions of 'That time I slept with crazy' stories on the internet.

Thor doesn't respond. Instead, he vanishes and takes the room's warmth with him.

Tony sighs and moves closer to Loki. He should've known the night had been too good to last.

\---

"Wow" is the first thing Wanda says when she steps into the house, which OK, it's what Tony's used to hearing from his guests, even if they're most definitely older than her and here for other reasons.

She could, of course, be referring to the floating furniture, but Tony would rather think it's his good taste in decoration.

"How long has it been like this?" She asks.

"The floating? Just two days or so. It's a bit hard to sit and have breakfast and stuff but once you get used to it it's not so bad" Tony shrugs. The Peters are trying to find any hidden wires or crystal bases, Peter2 rolling under the couch and jumping on the table while Peter1 films him with a GoPro. "Kid if you break my stuff I'm charging you, I don't care how many hours you have to mop a sad Walmart aisle to pay me" he warns, when the guy's efforts become a tad violent.

"Max, I think you should get down."

"He's bluffing Parks, he wants his ghosts gone, he has to deal with us" 

"I don't want my ghosts gone, I told you!" Tony exclaims, though with the way Peter2 (Max?) keeps on with his frantic pushing and jumping, he doubts he sounds as menacing as he wishes.

A hand lands softly on his forearm. "It's ok, he's going to fall off now" Wanda says, and her words are punctuated by the sound of her brother's body landing on the floor. 

Tony whistles. "You really got the mojo huh?"

"I do, but that was less a prediction and more an educated guess from living with him for twenty two years." She corrects. "I can feel your ghosts. They're worried about the other one... Thor?" She looks at him with a concerned frown, and Tony waves the matter away.

"He's just a guy, weird name aside" he explains.

Wanda nods. "He feels troubled. Something happened that brought him back to the moment he died, and it's causing him pain."

Tony sighs, and for the first time his wish that he had never brought Loki home feels genuine.

"It's not that." Wanda says, startling him. Did she just.... "I did, but only because you're very agitated." She shrugs like it's nothing.

"Ok, I'm gonna act like that doesn't give me the creeps. What can we do to help Thor?" He asks. Wanda frowns in thought, but he has no time to consider her because a GoPro and its attached Peter are shoved into his face.

"So what can you tell us about your ghosts, Mister S?" Says Peter2, holding a cheap mic to his mouth. "They seem very passive, floating furniture aside."

Tony sighs. "Guys" He calls out. "A little paranormal activity for the kids here?"

The Peters look like they're gonna wet themselves for a second, their breaths held and eyes wide as... as nothing happens.

"Well, that was disappoi-"

_"Baby squirrel you's a sexy mother fucker"_

Peter2 jumps three feet in the air and Tony's hoping, /wishing/ that Peter1 got it on camera, because he's willing to pay good money for it.

"What was that?" Peter2 asks as he turns around frantically. Tony points calmly to a the floating TV where Bruno Mars is smiling diabolically down at them.

The Peters scramble towards it just as a /very/ distorted version of 'Treasure' begins playing. Tony sighs, he'll have to thank Natasha for any nightmares he has tonight.

He turns back to Wanda, who's still staring into the ether like it holds the key to Thor's emotional diarrhea.

"So?" He asks, and the girl frowns deeper.

"I don't... he wants to tell" she starts, like Thor's talking to her through a static-y phone. "But not to me? He says he only wants his friends to know."

Tony holds back a sarcastic, but heartfelt 'aw'. The Peters don't, and Bruno Mars sings loudly about how he's going to drag them screaming into the pits of hell.

"Well then, what do I do?" He ignores the other two. Judging from Wanda's actions, it's the only reasonable response. 

"I can act as a contact"

"A contact?"

"Yeah, for him to go through me into you and show you what he wants you to see."

"Whoa, go inside me?" Tony frowns. That's a bit too invasive for friendship, _especially_ given his on and off meetings with Thor's brother.

Wanda shrugs. "Ghosts do what they want." She says simply. "So? Are you in or not?"

Tony sighs. 

"How bad can it be?" A voice speaks from somewhere over his shoulder, and he turns in time to see Steve, smiling awkwardly and being fawned over by the guys.

"Famous last words, Steve, but I think you'd know a bit more about that than me" he smirks at the soldier, then looks back at Wanda. "Well, can't let my buddy down."

"Are you ready?" She warns.

"Always ready to hear about my friend's dirty laundry." He tries to go for a smirk again, but Wanda reaches to touch his forehead with a finger and it feels like a hammer slammed against him.

He staggers

_"Are you ok?" Asks someone. Tony turns and has a moment of disorientation. He **definitely** wasn't this tall five seconds ago. "Hey? Earth to Thor?" He finally focuses on the person talking to him. _

_Loki looks younger in every aspect, from the clothes he wears to the way he carries himself, but the most astounding change is in his eyes, they look mischievous and fond as he looks at him, and it's not until then that Tony realizes present time Loki has never held his gaze for more than a moment._

_Then, he processes the words and things begin clicking into place. He looks through the corner of his eye and catches his reflection in a dark window._

_Thor looks different too, but not as much. He's young and he's naive, but he died without the deep apathy that plagues his brother._

_He feels his lips moving by themselves and he forces himself to pay attention. This is important, if only because Thor wanted him to see it._

_"Me? I'm OK, I'm not the one who downed a bottle of vodka in thirty three seconds." He hears himself speak in Thor's amused, rough tones._

_"It's not my fault you lost the designated driver raffle." Loki shrugs. Tony can smell the alcohol on his breath. "Besides, Sif dared me"_

_"Sif has the resistance of seventeen sailors and you know it"_

_"I wasn't about to let a free bottle of vodka go to waste"_

_"When have you ever?"_

_The memory shifts and tumbles over itself, like he remembers cassette tapes doing when his dad's chauffeur drove through a bumpy road._

_Now he's sitting behind the wheel of a car. Loki's his copilot and three guys are chuckling slumped against each other in the back in a way that makes it very clear that it's only their seatbelts holding them sitting. Through his side view mirror he sees half of a beautiful girl, holding herself on the open window to scream excitedly at the road running past them._

_He feels love and excitement , and Tony knows the feeling isn't his. The only feeling that truly belong to him right now is the sadness that weighs his chest down._

_"She kissed me, I'm telling you." Loki brags from his seat. "Her boyfriend was like, right there, and for a bit I felt sorry for him but then he just-" he hiccups, a goofy grin parting his face and he lets out an amused bark of laughter. "Shut up, anyways, he just came over to us and told her they should ask for my number, just in case we wanted to go out for coffee sometime"_

_"He did not!" Screams one of the guys from the backseat, while another punctuates with a high spirited 'you're so full of shit, I bet he just punched you'._

_"I don't talk to drunk hobos, shut up" He lifts up a hand to flip them off, and Tony notices two smudged phone numbers written in blue ink against his pale skin. "Hot dates Thor!"_

_"Pity, I was hoping you'd finally get to be the pretty one in a relationship" Thor says through Tony's lips. Or is it the opposite? He doesn't know anymore, he just laughs at Loki's offended face and delights in his friends' cackles._

_"You know what Thor?" Loki says finally. "You're lucky you're just enough of a bastard to be likable"_

_Thor turns to ruffle his brother's carefully stylized hair, and doesn't see the other car turn into the road, swerving erratically from side to side._

_Tony does._

_The crushing pain against his head is back, only now he can recognize it._

_He doesn't recognize the people standing around his coffin._

_There's a man with a white beard, an eye covered by a patch and another blinded with tears. He clings to a twig of a woman like she's his lifeline, and she stands as though her spine is made of steel and her flesh is stone as she looks upon Thor's dead face._

_Tony sits up and his top half goes through the plexiglass cover of the coffin as easily as his ghosts go through him. It's a weird thought._

_The Loki he sees crumbled on the floor is so foreign to him that he wonders how one person can be so many people. There are tears running down his face, but he makes no effort to stop or wipe them. Some splash on the pure white cast around his left forearm and on the hazelnut hair of the child curled on his lap._

_Loki's head is resting against the armrest of a wheelchair, and the girl sitting on it, the one that screamed in the cold night air, has a hand on his shoulder. Her nails dig deeply into the fabric of his suit and she doesn't seem to mind her tears either._

_The three guys, bruised and bandaged still, stand around them like a wall against the world, like they don't know where else to be if not by their side and like they can't conceive the thought of taking a step further from them or closer to the coffin._

_The couple and the group barely moves as time passes, as second cousins and ex girlfriends and old high school teachers and little league baseball coaches come and go, until the sky turns dark._

_They stand still like a painting for so long that Tony begins to wonder what else there is to see in this scene._

_Loki stands up then, dislodging the child carefully, and he stares._

_He's still staring, when Loki walks away from his friends, his family and his brothers._

_Still, when one of the three guys notices him leaving the funeral parlor._

_He doesn't bother following, he knows what happens._

_The guy that went after Loki comes back with a bloody nose, and the others seem to know too._

_The bearded man runs a tired hand over his face, and only then the woman moves._

_She mourns both her sons over the body of her eldest, and her sobs are so heart wrenching Tony is glad for the first time that his mother died before he did._

"What did he show you?" Wanda's soft voice reaches him as if through water, and he feels himself coming back gradually.

He locks eyes with Wanda, and her gaze softens.

"He showed me what he needs." He sighs. "I'm gonna come off as such a creep" he says finally, rubbing a hand over his face.

\---

The kids stay at his house under the strict vigilance of half a WWII soldier and a mysterious Russian vapor, because Tony thinks it will make things less weird.

It doesn't. Much as he predicted, Loki looks less than amused when he spots him at the bar where he's chatting up a girl that's smiling and twirling a lock of hair around her index finger and giving off _all_ the signals.

Tony feels sorry for a moment before he walks over and wraps an arm around his waist. The girl's smile withers like a grape under the sun and she hastily finds herself another place to be; Loki doesn't miss a beat in pushing Tony away from him.

"Ok, I'm going to say this once, so pay attention." Loki begins, and he looks cold enough that Tony knows it's not the first time he's had to do this. "First time was fun, second was nice, none meant shit. So if you think you can come find me when you need a quick fuck or that you own me now or whatever then you're a lot less bright than I thought, budd-"

"Thor wants to see you" Tony blurts out. It's like bandaids, right? The faster he does it, the lesser the pain.

Loki's punch to the face hurts just as much, though.

"Wait!" He exclaims at Loki's retreating back; he definitely doesn't expect the other guy to just turn around and slam into him, hands at his collar and rage in his face.

"I don't know how you found out about-"

"He told me" Tony interrupts, and holds both hands up in an attempt to call Loki, because they're starting to call attention to themselves. "I'm not lying, the night he died, you- you drank a bottle of vodka in thirty three seconds and got the numbers of a couple you met at the party" he gets it out as quickly as he can.

Loki's eyes narrow. "What are you playing at?"

"Come with me. I'm not lying, he needs to see you." He insists, nearly _begs_ , because this is his friend they're talking about and he's going to fix this. "Please. You can hit me again if I'm lying, I won't even move, promise"

"If you're lying I'm going to do a whole lot more than hit you. Promise" Loki says, and he doesn't let go of Tony's neck the whole way down to his car. Tony wisely decides not to comment on how as soon as he starts the engine Loki's reaching down into his boot to pull out a pocket knife.

\---

"... did you kidnap these kids as well?" Loki deadpans, eyes fixed on Wanda, Peter and Peter that are calmly watching a movie. Of course there's no furniture floating around _now_ , because that would be too easy. Tony curses his ghosts before going to correct Loki.

"OK, first off I didn't kidnap you. You punched me and then agreed to come." He gestures at the teenagers. "and they're mostly just meddling with my business, but Wanda's pretty good."

"So this is the guy?" Peter2 turns around on the couch to sweep a gaze over Loki, who takes it like a champ. "I guess he's alright, if you're into dudes I mean"

"Shut up Peter" says Wanda. _Both_ Peters blush, and isn't that interesting? Tony files it for later.

"I'm Wanda. I... spoke to your brother" she offer to Loki then. She doesn't offer a hand to shake, which is just as good since Loki looks like he might rip it off. "He really only wants to speak to you and-"

"Is this what this is all about?" Loki cuts her up. His eyes drill into Tony, and he has to fight a wince down. "You and some kids wanted to play Ghostbusters and you brought me here for a fucking ouija session?" He practically snarls.

"No, see.. Wanda can do this thing-" Tony tries to explain, but his words are mixed and tangled in the face of the sheer rage in Loki's features, that even thick as it is cannot manage to fully cover the raw hurt underneath. Loki's always seemed so stoic and collected that Tony forgot for a second about the guy that hid a child in his chest even as he himself crumbled to pieces before a coffin. " -Thor just... he wants to talk to you" he repeats in the end, uselessly.

"No he doesn't." Loki responds after a moment. It's cold and composed again, but Tony can see his left hand clenched right in the fabric of his shirt. "He doesn't. You know how I know that?"

"I-" Tony begins, but Wanda's hand clings vicelike to his forearm, and he stays his tongue. Even the Peters are silent.

"I know because I have tried." Loki spits out, and it's so ugly and bitter and venomous that Tony wonders how on earth he isn't choking. "I have tried _everything_. Name me a religion, been there, done that. Greedy freaks like your little girlfriend?" he gestures Wanda with a distasteful sneer. "A dime a dozen, none of them worth jack. Inner peace? Bullshit."

Tony tries to interject. “Lok-"

"No, NO" Loki interrupts. "You shut up and listen, I don't know what your deal is, if you just wanted to poke fun at the guy that got his brother killed, if someone set you up on this, if you're just a nutcase, I don't give a fuck. I tried to get in touch with a dead man for nine years before I realized it was a lost case, and a rich asshole with a group of kids in for a quick cash fix isn't going to change that. I'm leaving, and you better not look for me again, I'm not kidding" with those last words, Loki turns on his heel and yanks the door open.

It's slammed back against the frame just as harshly, and Loki takes a few steps back, like someone pushed him.

He turns immediately, his hand flies to the pocket knife he has in his jacket, and Tony steps in front of Wanda.

"You have three seconds to tell me what's going on here." Loki says. Tony has no doubt he's already counting in his head, and by the way the Peters go to stand next to him, tense and silent, they know too.

"First off, I need you to calm down. None of us is armed, and whatever you're thinking, I can guarantee it's _not_ it" Tony replies. He holds his hands up to mark his point, and after a subtle look to Peter1 and a less subtle kick to Peter2, they do the same. "This is not a trick Loki, and I need you to at least try to believe me, because if you leave right now there might be no other chance to help Thor"

Loki's hand lowers, but his grip on the knife is still tight, his eyes still narrow. "How did you close the door?" He demands.

Tony opens his mouth to reply, but he doesn't get to.

"He didn't. I did" says Natasha. They all turn to her, she's levitating a foot over the ground next to the door, and Tony lets out an impressed whistle just as Loki's limp body hits the floor and Peter two turns away and runs to find a bathroom.

Natasha is fully manifested for the first time, and now Tony's one hundred percent sure she'd been saving her appearance for shock value.

Her hair is waving around her head, pushed by a wind that doesn't exist, and it's as red as the bloody handprints that drag down her face and her naked pale arms. Her lips are sliced across by a clean, knife-like cut, two of her fingers are missing and the weirdly colorless fabric of her blouse is ripped at the stomach. The burning and cutting there is certainly impressive, but Tony's willing to bet that what really did her in were the three gunshots to the forehead.

"That was a definitely over the top" he observes. Peter1's hands are shaky as they hold the camera, and he pays his shoulders. "She's not going to hurt you kid. She's just a bit dramatic”

Natasha shrugs. "I had to shut him up. We'll bring Thor, make sure he's awake by then."

\---

"... so this is for real" Loki's surprisingly calm when he comes about, but Tony still moves carefully. 

"I'm afraid so."

"Why would Thor be here?" He asks. It sounds a bit wobbly. Tony chooses to ignore it.

"I have no idea, they were here when I bought the place. Him and Nat and the others" he explains. Peter2 leans forward excitedly.

"From what I've been investigating and I have only been at it for like an hour but still it's possible that this house acts like a magnet for some reason and it's attracting ghosts from different eras and parts of the world and we're not sure why but Wanda's talking to the ghosts and Parks and I are working on-" 

"I think he's got it Peter, thank you." Tony pushes the guy back into the couch at Loki's bewildered expression. "He gets excited. Or he´s just like this all the time, I really don't know."

"I do, you have to stop him before he picks up inertia" Peter1 pipes in from the other couch.

"Lovely"

They fall into silence again. Tony's starting to wonder why Thor hasn't shown up yet, but he's getting uncomfortable.

"So was he always so obsessed with Pop Tarts or is that new?" He asks before he can stop himself.

For a moment Loki looks like the wind has been punched out of him, but then his lips curl into a fond smile.

"Had them for breakfast every day and kept a box in his locker when we were in high school" he replies. "I always wondered how he wasn't morbidly obese but then again he was the biggest gym junkie I've ever met"

"No kidding" Tony smirks. "First time he appeared, he showed up in my TV. I thought I was in for a new fitness machine informercial"

Surprisingly, Loki laughs. "Well, he has the type." He sighs. "In the TV... he did always like The Ring, the dork"

"Right!?" Tony jumps at the conversation opening excitedly. "He's super dorky for such a jock type guy. Sometimes we play Monopoly and-"

"He's the WORST at Monopoly" Loki cuts him. "He's always overloading his properties with hotels and he makes alliances with my dad to buy me out of the board!"

"Well, you're always in league with Bal to steal our money when you think we aren't looking" says Thor, and they both freeze.

He manifests slowly, like a window fogging up, until he's fully formed and looking down at Loki with an expression so pained and anxious and so openly loving that Tony looks away. Peter2 doesn't, but then again he guess the kid has more experience with siblings showing love, because Peter1 is looking just as uncomfortable as him.

"We found him" Wanda chooses that moment to speak, standing at the edge of the living room next to Natasha's blurry form. "It took a bit to convince him to come"

Tony clears his throat. "Well" he starts, uneasy. "That's just not nice. I went through a the trouble of almost getting stabbed by your brother and you weren't even going to show up?"

" I... I was afraid he wouldn't want to see me." Thor sighs. "I was afraid you'd be mad at me" he directs at Loki then, and Tony turns to the guy.

Loki looks like he's seeing a ghost which well, duh, but still.

Tony stares openly and unashamedly, but he kind of envies the rest of the ghosts' ability to be invisible and not make it awkward, because the absolutely adoring way Thor is looking at his brother is making him feel like he's intruding merely by existing.

"You came to see me" says Thor.

Slowly, like Tony's brain on coffee-less mornings, Loki nods. His eyes are still wide as plates and his lips are slightly parted.

"Will you please stop with all of this?" Thor speaks again, and Tony knows without question what all of this is; the hitchhiking with strangers, the chain smoking, the drinking, _himself_ , and all the other one night stands.

Loki takes a deep breath before replying. Tony has only seen the guy twice or thrice, doesn't really know much about him except that he's good in bed and bad at cuddling, but when he finally answers his voice holds a sort of fragility that makes him want to wrap him into a blanket, hand him a mug of something warm and then hurry away before he can get slapped.

"I never wanted you to die" Is all he says.

Thor's eyes fill with the kind of detached sadness Tony has come to associate with his ghosts, like they're feeling but they've also started to forget what feeling is like.

"And I never wanted you to blame yourself"

"I'm sorry" Loki reaches forward. Tony's about to warn him about the cold, stick-your-hand-in-a-barrel-of-dead-fish feeling, but he's cut short when Thor lets out a blood curdling scream as his brother's hand goes through his chest.

Loki's hand retreats at the speed of light and he gets paler by the second. Tony begins to worry that he's going to pass out, but then Thor starts laughing.

It's just a low chuckle at first, but it grows exponentially and becomes full roaring cackles and the ghost points a finger at Loki.

"Shit, you should've seen your face!" Thor manages to rasp out between one burst of laughter and the next. "It was like when you thought you ran over Balder with your bike!"

Tony thinks Loki's going to break the interdimensional barrier through sheer power of rage just to strangle Thor, but as his face regains what little color it had and his cheeks redden, he sighs and the corners of his mouth turn up into a smirk.

"You're lucky you're just enough of a bastard to be likable" He snorts in a very un-attractive way. It's still kind of attractive, somehow. Then, his face falls as if his whole façade has been wiped with a wet cloth. "I miss you."

"Me too" Thor replies. "And I'm glad we were able to talk again, but..." he looks over his shoulder at Tony, at the other ghosts. "But I think I have to go now."

"What?! Why now?" Loki reaches for Thor again, stops before actually going through him.

Thor shrugs. "I don't think I have anything else to do here." His voice is getting fainter by the moment. It feels like reaching the final seconds of your favorite song. "I'll be waiting for you, and I don't want to see your stupid face in a very long time, am I clear?"

"Crystal"

Thor smiles. It makes Tony think back to his mother, to the angels she spoke so much about.

"Goodbye"

"See you" Loki's voice is so thin it's barely audible, and his hand gives a weak wave, just as Thor starts to dissolve.

The ghost turns to Tony. He can feel the presence of the others surrounding him, and they feel relieved. Sad. 

"I guess it's way past your time huh, big guy?" Tony says.

Thor smiles. "I guess. Thanks for everything Tony." Then he looks past him. "Hope you make it soon, friends"

He fades as slowly as he appeared, after the other ghosts don't reply, and he leaves behind a loaded, heavy silence.

\---

"... I need a place to crash tonight" Loki says suddenly. He's not looking at anywhere or anyone in particular, and he reminds Tony of himself after they told him of his parent's accident. "And if you could spare me your wifi, I need to buy a plane ticket." He added. At least there's some feeling there, though Tony can't begin to figure out what.

He escorts the teenagers our, pays a cab for them, promises to call them. Then he comes back inside and leads Loki to the never used guest room.

"There's food in the fridge if you want to have dinner" he says, not expecting an answer, and he turns to leave.

The others haven't shown their faces in a while, and he's getting worried.

"Thank you." He hears behind him.

Tony doesn't turn back. Somehow he doesn't think he's the person to comfort this stranger right now. He wonders if there even is a person qualified for this.

"He never thought it was your fault, you know? It was just an accident.” Tony says, then sighs. “Sometimes bad things happen to good people. The world is unfair like that” He adds, and he's not thinking only about Thor.

Loki doesn't speak, and Tony doesn't either.

\---

“So that's it? Thor’s gone just like that?” Tony asks. He's staring at the shady ceiling with his arms crossed over his chest but not quite filling the void he feels there. “Is that even a good thing, or did I just make everything worse?” He adds after getting no reply for a while.

“It's a great thing” Steve says then. He's got a sad smile on his face. “He's gone where we should all be. He's in a better place now”

“If you believe in those things, of course.” Bruce appears at the foot of his bed and Tony rolls his eyes at hiss words.

“Bruce, not to be rude but I kinda stopped being skeptical when I started playing board games with dead people”

Steve chuckles, but he sobers up quickly enough. “It's a great thing what you did today. You helped set Thor free”

“Wait. Free?” Tony frowns. “You mean to tell me you're trapped here? I thought you stayed because you wanted to”

“We do, at least now.” Bruce replies. However, he's twiddling his thumbs and looking pointedly down so Tony knows there's something he isn't saying. He gives a disbelieving grunt, but stays otherwise silent until Bruce sighs and looks up at him. “Truth is… we were tied here long before you came. We couldn't leave, it was like…” Bruce’s voice fades gradually and he starts to flicker, so Tony focuses back on Steve.

The ghost fixes him with a gentle smile. He looks embarrassed, somehow. “It felt like we were waiting for someone” He starts. “We didn't know each other when we were alive, we didn't even know where we were. We just knew we were waiting, and when you showed up it just felt… right” Steve smiles wider, encouragingly. “Maybe you were sent here to help us move on”

“How romantic" Tony runs a hand down his face. “Look, this is all a bit too much to take in right now. Call me a coward but I'd like to sleep for a bit before examining our predestined bond, OK?”

He doesn't wait for an answer before turning on his bed to find a more comfortable position, but the ghosts don't reply and he feels their presence fade, the room get a couple degrees warmer.

When he falls asleep, his last thought is that maybe he should have looked at the other building before signing on this one.


	2. Chapter 2

**2**

Thor has been dead for almost ten years. Tony keeps reminding himself of this, keeps trying to convince himself that Thor died when a drunk driver crushed his car like an accordion, not two months ago when he said goodbye.

Still he feels empty, and he can tell the others do too. He knows exactly what it is, the fact that Thor is doing good and where he's supposed to be is good and all, but it does nothing to fix the fact that he's _not here._

The Monopoly box gathers dust on a corner, they've taken to playing Pictionary instead. Steve's team loses ten out of nine times because Clint can't draw to save his life and Steve keeps doing masterpieces on notebook paper long after time has run out.

What he's trying to say is that they're moving on and living -not living? What do his ghosts do?- life, but Thor not being here feels wrong and Tony has been going out a lot more lately.

"You've been spending the night a lot lately, should I be worried?" T'challa says to him from beneath a towel as he comes out from the steaming bathroom.

Tony looks up from where he's fighting Kitty Purry off his laptop keyboard and smirks. "Not in the least hottie, I'm the last person you need to have a talk about attachments with" Then, because the only towel currently on T'challa is the one he's using to dry his hair and Tony's but a simple mortal, he snaps the laptop shut and puts it on the bedside table. "Now get up here"

"I just showered" T'challa rolls his eyes "And I have to open the store"

"Nah you really don't" Tony counters with a smile. A simple post coital inquiry had long since revealed T'challa's family was ridiculously well off -and that's something, coming from Tony- and the man had admitted he'd bought the bookstore on a whim and ran it as a hobby.

"Fine I don't, but you do need to stop avoiding your house" T'challa throws the towel in the hamper and climbs onto the bed and _wow_ , isn't that a mood dampener? "Sensitive topic?"

"A bit" Tony grumbles. T'challa's wandering hand on his shoulders and back is doing a marvelous job of bringing him back into the zone, but he still feels a little deflated. "We don't talk about it much"

"And that means not at all?"

"Bingo, so follow my lead" Tony pipes up, and pushes the other man down on his back. "And let's do something else"

T'challa rolls his eyes with a smile and because Tony's powers of diversion are so effective, they spent the next hour not speaking at all.

\--

Tony sets up camp at a corner of the store on a secluded table; today's morning topic left him with even less of a desire to go back home so that he and the others can pretend nothing is missing.

The bell rings. It seems a bit odd for someone to come into an occult bookstore at 11 am but he's no one to judge, so he pays no mind.

"Are you seriously still sleeping with T'challa? I thought you were more of a hit and run type of guy" a well known voice pulls him out of the mail he's composing for Pepper.

"T'challa, some kid is looking for a book about 'none of your damned business’ " Tony calls towards the back of the store. "I'm also one hundred percent sure he should be at school right now, I'll call the police"

"I've got a free period you old fart" Peter2 drags a chair from another table and proceeds to slump down on it. "Seriously though, don't screw it with our research guy, we can't afford to lose any of you two"

"We're on a strict fuck and brunch basis because we're both smart cookies. Also sorry, but what can't you afford to lose me for?" Tony frowns. He also saves the mail to draft, since this is Peter2 and that means he will get zero work done while he's around.

"Uhm, you're our ghost guy?" Peter2 replies, staring at him like he's asking what color the sky is. "The last episode we uploaded brought us like a hundred thousand hits, people loved it!"

"I don't recall signing anything that allowed you to put me on YouTube kid"

Tony sees T'challa peek his head out from behind a shelf before shrugging them off and going back to rearranging. Meanwhile, Peter2 waves the matter of his online privacy away "We blurred your face and never show the outside of the house, you're good. But that's not what matters, what matters is people are hungry for more, and we need to give it to them!"

"Listen Peter" Tony sighs. "I only ever hit you up because Thor wasn't feeling well. Now Thor's gone, and the others are just fine, we'd much rather lay low with the whole 'i live with actual dead people’ business, we don't want the attention"

"Aw, come on Mr. Stark, no one will know who you are, you're safe! Besides wouldn't your ghosts love to tell their stories?" The kid looks at him with a lame attempt at puppy dog eyes that makes Tony roll his.

"And why would you think that?"

"BecauseWandaandIbrokeinlastnightandStevetoldusitwasagreatidea" Peter2 responds. As it always does whenever he's excited, his words take a few seconds to process in Tony's brain and-

"Wait what?" He glares at the other, whose sickly sweet innocent face weighs heavier than a signed confession. "You broke into my-"

"AnywayssincetheyallagreedwetoldPeterandwe'remeetingyouthereatninetonight" Peter2 hops to his feet and is out the door with a last hurried up 'bye T'challa bye Mr. Stark'

Tony rubs his temples with his fingers before a thought strikes him.

"You didn't give them a heads up that I wouldn't be home last night, did you?" He asks, eyes narrowed and brow furrowed.

"I find your accusation incredibly offensive" T'challa replies from behind his shelf. There's laughter in his voice and Tony groans as his forehead makes contact with the table.

\--

"What were you thinking?" He calls out to Steve as the door closes behind him.

"He's probably not going to come down here" Clint's voice says from a point over his head and Tony looks up to find him swinging head down from an invisible rope. "But when the kids were came over he said it would at least make you come home again"

"Well he better have a damned great story to tell them because they're coming tonight" Tony huffs. Clint follows him into the living room and somersaults to sit on the couch with him. Or sink into the couch, whatever, Clint never seems to have good control of his tangibility.

"He was bluffing with that actually" the ghost says conversationally. "He's got no idea how he died"

"Isn't that sort of a life changing thing?" Tony asks. Clint laughs with him because he's got a great sense of humor. "Really though, was he planning on just making shit float and creak for the kids to record?"

"I think he was mostly thinking on his feet" Bruce flickered into existence on Tony's other side. "Good to see you here."

And his low comment, more than Steve's underhanded scheme, is what makes the pit of tar-like guilt stir in his stomach.

"Yeah, sorry about that." Says Tony, looking at anywhere but the TV where he'd first seen Thor. "It's just-"

"We know" Clint cuts before he can say it. "We miss the guy too"

It's a quarter to ten when Tony gets a text message from Wanda saying they're sorry but Peter1's got some sort of travelling errand at the journal he interns in and he won't be getting out soon but they can be there next week.

"I got stood up by tagalongs" Tony sighs.

Bruce chuckles. "This is a new low"

Tony texts back a meager 'ok' and picks himself up intending to fix himself something for dinner. The monopoly board is set on the table.

He stares at it for a moment that feels like an eternity. When he finally takes a step towards it, it's like his feet are sunken in sticky mud, but he makes it to a chair.

"Dibs on the red Ferrari" He calls.

The impromptu game night is unusually quiet, but when Tony puts the board back into its box it feels a little lighter.

\--

"... So he can't actually tell us anything" Peter1's face looks as done as Tony's ever seen a face look and it's making him feel so good it should be illegal.

"Nope, he doesn't remember a thing." He leans forward to smirk. "Nothing, niet, Nada."

"Charming" Peter1 deadpans. Then, in a rush of stubbornness Tony expected from his peterpart, he goes on. "Good for us you have more than one ghost, so guys if any of the others want five minutes in the limelight you're more than welcome to come here and tell us your life story" he directs the last part at the room.

Nothing.

"Whoops, sorry kid, I guess-"

"Hey Parks! Clint says he'll do it!" Peter2 comes down the stairs -when did he even go up?!- followed by Clint's ghastly form.

"Where's your sister?" Tony demands. The last time Wanda came in touch with his ghosts Thor took the stairway to heaven, he's not risking it.

"Her girlfriend called her, I think she's in your study"

"I'm here" Wanda cuts into the conversation and Tony flinches with the effort to not turn on the spot and suckerpunch her. He has to get her a bell. "Janet says hi, and she says Vision does too" she adds simply.

Tony's mind recoils at that. "You know an actual human being named Vision?" He asks. Wanda's eyeroll makes him feel way older than his years.

"It's his DJ name" she replies. "You're going to talk to us right?" She then asks, turning to face Clint.

"Sure kid, I'll even pull out the big guns and play along to your summoning, I can topple things and break stuff" Clint replies enthusiastically. He's smiling at Wanda in a way Tony's never seen before, warm and fond and reminiscent of how Obadiah looks at him. He should _also_ give his not-really father a call, he thinks just as the meaning of Clint's words clicks.

"Keep the toppling and breaking to a minimum, will you? I can afford to refurbish the place ten times over but I'd rather not have to" Tony intervenes dryly. "I didn't know you had a cool story to tell"

"Excuse you, it's an amazing one" Clint points at him accusingly. "And even if it wasn't, I am a _performer_ , I can make up a little fairytale" He fades after saying this, leaving his voice as the only evidence of his presence. "Ready whenever kids"

"I really wish everyone would stop calling us kids" Peter2 rolls his eyes and sets to unpacking the camera.

"You _do_ throw a lot of tantrums tho" says Peter1, and he laughs when Peter2 mimics his words in a squeaky voice. Even Wanda cracks up a smile, and Tony can feel himself relaxing by the moment before he catches on and puts up a watchful eye again.

He can't start getting fond of these kids, he already has enough weird in his life.

"We're going to begin now" Peter1 warns, for all the good it does him, since he pushes the button on the camera before Tony even has a chance to reply.

"Hello there spooks! Are your socks back on from our last transmission?" Peter2 asks enthusiastically. "Good! Because we're gonna knock 'em right off again, this is Wanda and the Peters and we're back at Mr. X's house, where just two months ago we helped two _very_ estranged brothers get back in touch"

"You need to slow down, how many red bulls did you have?" Peter1 says from behind the camera. "As our charming blob of energy just summarized, we were here a while ago, after Mr. X called us saying he was having paranormal activity at his home. Mr. X, how did you know you were dealing with ghosts?"

Peter1 shoves the camera into Tony's face and Tony glares heartily, hopefully the blur will cover it. "It's kinda hard not to realize you have ghosts when translucent people begin showing up floating over your bed" he grunts out. This is way better than becoming internet famous over a leaked sex tape but it's still not what he wants to be known for.

"Has the apparition we encountered last time come back?"

Tony sighs. "No, he hasn't. I think he went on but I don't know where."

Peter1 nods approvingly. Peter2 gives him an enthusiastic thumbs up and Wanda offers a sympathetic shrug that looks sincere enough for Tony to forgive her for breaking into his house. At least a little.

"It's good to know we're helping, now what's the reason you called us today?"

Tony rolls his eyes. If this kids want a show...

"I heard wailing last night, terrible, coming from the living room. It was like someone being tortured" He starts, voice low and dreadful. Wanda's tentative smile turns into a full on grin as her brother smothers his ridiculous giggling on her shoulder. "I came down with my gun, and I saw him."

"Him?" Peter1 asks as he gestures for Peter2 to shut up.

"A man" Tony nods. "Hanging upside down and staring, just staring while he wailed. I didn't feel in danger though, so I asked what he needed"

"What did he need Mr. X?" Peter2 has finally managed to contain his giggling and he walks into frame with him.

"He didn't tell" Says Tony, making his best to sound worried even when he knows his ghosts are probably all cracking up at his acting. "He just vanished, that's why I called you. I want you to help this poor soul achieve peace"

"We will, Mister X, trust us" Peter2 nods solemnly then offers a hand towards the others. "Wanda? Do you think he's here?"

Wanda steps into frame as well, and Tony notices she's taken her makeup up to eleven; her eyes look big and dramatic shadowed in coal-colored pencil, her cheekbones carefully outlined and her lips shining scarlet. It gives her an uncanny vibe, like Snowhite after she bit into the apple.

"Yes... I can feel him" she responds in a raspy soft voice that is SO not hers. "He's so lonely, it hurts me... Spirit, can you communicate?" She asks. Her voice rises in volume as she speaks until it booms over the room.

They all fall silent; Peter1 pans over the entire living room slowly.

Slower still, a magazine left on the coffeetable flips open.

"Is that you, lonely man?" Wanda asks again, her movie medium impersonation flawless. "Talk to us, what do we call you? Will you tell us?"

Clint must be having a field day, Tony decides. And because he has no idea about the limitations of ghost powers, he imagines the others are too, if he recruited them to fly the magazine pages he's ripping off around the room.

The pages stick themselves to the wall, folding and scrunching -and now Tony's _sure_ the others are involved, because that's the exact way Bruce folds the paper napkins when he's nervous- and arranging themselves to form a single word.

"Is your name Clint? Please show yourself Clint, we want to see you" Wanda calls.

Tony smirks. "How can we help you Clint?" He adds to Wanda's over the top pleading. Maybe there's something to this whole vlog business.

Clint meanwhile, makes the lights flicker and a light fog come down from the ceiling to profile his silhouette.

Peter1 directs the camera there, and Clint manifests, translucent and upside down, Tony has to applaud his attention to detail. He's also dripping silvery drops of water but that's a scary extra so he'll give him points.

"Welcome, Clint" Wanda gestures grandiosely at the living room. "We're here to help you, do you want to speak to us?"

Clint nods -it looks a bit weird when inverted- and floats closer to Wanda, stretching a hand.

"Be careful Wan, we don't know if he's a revengeful spirit" Says Peter2, before they make contact. He even manages to sound worried, Tony would've bought it if he hadn't seen the kid planning cat puns with the ghost to make fun of his sleeping companion.

"I have to, Peter" Wanda looks back at her brother, her eyes bigger than ever.

"If anything happens, we're here" Peter1 adds with a shaky voice. "We'll go down together" These kids deserve a fucking prize and Tony does too if only for the titanical amount of effort it takes to hold in his laughter, he's actually worried about cracking a rib.

"Let's do this, then" Wanda nods once solemnly and stretches her hand again to touch fingertips with Clint.

Her eyes go white, and when she speaks again Tony's quite sure their YouTube channel is going to peak again.

"Good to be back everyone, how's everything going?" Clint's voice comes from between Wanda's plump red lips.

"Is using my sister's voice really necessary?" Peter2 asks, pointing at Clint's silhouette. "Why can't you speak yourself?"

In response, Clint opens his mouth and a small, endless waterfall runs down from it. The little shit is gonna ruin his carpet, Tony thinks while grinding his teeth.

"..Oh" says Peter2, but Peter1 is much more enthusiastic for once.

"That's something! Did you die by drowning?" He asks after swinging the camera to catch the puddles of water he pokes with the tip of his shoe. "That could be a hint to who you are, we could find your next of kin!"

Wanda laughs in Clint's low, amused voice. "Child I lived and died at a travelling circus, if that doesn't scream 'no family' for you then times have really changed"

"... Thankfully they have, but that's not the point." Peter1 says and Peter2 can't hold back his snort of laughter. "You performed at a circus then?"

"Performed? I practically _made_ the circus, child!" Clint responds in mock offense. He lets go of Wanda's hand, but she continues talking with his voice even as he swings and pirouettes on an invisible trapeze all over the living room with Peter1 running behind him. "The Marvelous Hawkeye, they called me! I could hit a target with an arrow while hanging head down sixty feet off the ground!" He says, then pulls out a ghostly bow and shoots three quick arrows that go through Tony's chest.

Tony's hands go to cover the wounds on reflex, but the only thing he feels are three cold stabs. Lovely.

"Perfect, we should be able to find something about you then." Peter2 jumps into the conversation again, tho he's still at Wanda's side. "Did you perform alone?" He asks Clint who's still swinging lazily with his bow in hand.

"Well yes, no one could really keep up with me until I took Kate in and-" Clint stops moving mid-arch. "... Kate"

"Kate?" Peter2 asks, and it's like he's pulled a trigger.

There's a sharp snap and Clint falls to the floor -through the floor- just as Wanda's knees bend and she slumps on the couch behind her. Peter2's shaking her in less than an instant, and Peter1 and Tony are just starting to rush to their side when a new noise stops them.

Tony's fairly sure it is a dog, but he's even surer no dog should ever sound like that. It sounds strangled, and it falls and rises like someone's slamming it against the ground or a wall. Added to the spectral quality of the presence that makes the wind outside pale in comparison, Tony's sure he's not going to be sleeping peacefully anytime soon, no matter how much he tries to distract himself with a sexy librarian.

Clint dragging himself back out of the floor doesn't help, either. "Lucky?" He spits through a lungful of water "Lucky is that you? Where are you boy? Come here!" He screams. Tony screams too, when his floorboards start gushing out water, and he's pulling Wanda onto his shoulder and pushing the Peters towards the door in a second.

"Turn that shit off!" He yells at Peter1, while they wade through the knee-deep lake in his lobby. Peter1 complies and together with Peter2 they manage to pull the door open all the way through, spilling outside with the freezing water.

"Wanda?! Wanda are you ok?!" Peter2 yells frantically. He rips his sister off Tony just as she's starting to stir. "Talk to me, what's wrong?!"

"Ugh, stop screaming!" Wanda pushes his face away with a clumsy, heavy hand. "I just wasn't expecting it" she sounds like Tony does when he wakes up after too much alcohol, he doesn't envy her at all.

"Expecting what?" Tony asks, sitting up.

"I don't know? This is not exactly the kind of thing that comes with a manual." Wanda shakes her head, clenches it between her hands when it doesn't seem to have the desired effect. "Clint was just using me to speak when he said that girl's name and then all of a sudden there was yelling and someone was beating me and then they just, I was underwater and couldn't get up, they wouldn't let me get up"

Then she looks up at Tony and he can feel the cold roots of panic digging into him because this girl is looking to him for guidance and he could turn her into a business shark in two days flat but asides from that he really, _really_ doesn't know what he's doing.

“I think Clint might have been murdered” she says. She sounds a decade younger and not at all like someone who just spoke face to face with a ghost without breaking a sweat.

“You think?” Tony allows himself to say with a bark of laughter. “Ok, ok here’s what we’re gonna do. Are you alright?”

“I think so? I don't feel hurt” Wanda replies. Peter2 is still speechless, sat behind her and clinging to her arm like she's going to vanish if he lets go.

“What about you guys?” Tony says and the Peters nod. Peter1 has a bruising cheek, but he thinks he’ll survive. “Ok, I’m gonna- I'm gonna get us a cab to T’challa’s. You can shower and we’ll dry your clothes and I'll call someone to come and clean this place” it's not a bad plan if he does say so himself, pretty adult-y, getting the kids away from the paranormal activity set.

“But what about Clint?” Wanda clings to his hand when he tries to get up.

“He’ll be fine, but I gotta get you out of here in case he has another episode-” Thor’s face flashes into his mind and he turns to the still open door. “Guys is he alright?”

Steve fades into view, and Tony relaxes at his expression. “Nat’s with him. He's still going strong with the waterworks, but he managed to tell us he’ll be fine.” He stops a little, unsure. “It's not like before Tony, he feels different”

_Thank God_

“Ok, that's cool” Tony gets Wanda and Peter2 on their feet and turns again. “I'll send a cleaning crew, don't screw them over ok?” he turns to herd the teens to the car.

“Tony I'm-” Steve starts again, then stop once Tony looks back. “I'm sorry, I had no idea this would happen. Will you… are you coming back?”

Tony smiles but it feels tight. “Tonight if the cleaning’s done, tomorrow if it isn't. Make sure the water doesn't get into my computers ok?”

Steve’s face relaxes and he pulls a salute, smiling back. “Gotcha, go now before you catch a cold"

\--

To T’challa’s credit, he doesn't bat an eyelid when Tony shows up with three drenched teens on his doorstep, merely directing them to the guest room.

Tony thinks he might even feel guilty of it wasn't for the fact that it was T’challa who saddled him with the kids in the first place.

“Your ghosts acting up again?” T’challa asks after Tony’s made use of his friend with benefits status to skip the line and shower directly in the main room’s bathroom and is sitting with a mug of hot coffee.

“Yeah, but he didn't mean it” Tony sighs. “It was something else though, if I hadn't had to deal with Thor’s shenanigans before I don't know how I'd have reacted”

“You did good, tho, so stop worrying.” T’challa ruffles his hair. The bell rings at the store, and he looks up. “I'll be right back”

Tony nods and finishes his coffee in a slow last gulp, before he stands up and follows through the door to use the store’s landline.

T’challa’s tending a customer, a guy with a sports jacket and a service dog. Tony follows them with his gaze after dialing the cleaning company’s number.

T’challa moves softly around the guy, not overly cautious but making sure not to touch him and staying in his range of vision as he dances between shelves and picks up books.

Tony’s just finished giving his credit card information when they come back to the counter, he gives the guy a vague wave and scoots to the side so T’challa can get behind the register.

“So how are you?” Tony hears T’challa ask under the droning of the receptionist. “Did you go to that meeting you mentioned?”

“It was fine” The guy smiles. He's got a very boy-next-door smile, Tony decides, cute, casual, makes you wanna take him out for ice cream. “I also got Redwing, she's been a little hero” he says, gesturing to the dog who wags her tail when he looks at her.

“Fitting that you adopted her then” T’challa replies in a tone of voice that has Tony turning to face him so fast he gets whiplash. As expected, he's got a wide smile and is doing _nothing_ to check or bag the books the guy’s brought.

The guy just laughs, and Tony lifts his eyebrows at T’challa. It earns him a kick to the shin so he steps out of range before smirking, telephone still held up even though the call ended minutes ago.

“I recommended the book on anxiety you sold me to a girl at my group, don't freak her out”

“I'd be incapable!” T’challa says in mock offense as he finally gets around to checking and bagging the books. “Here, nineteen twenty"

The guy frowns. “You didn't mark this one” he begins to pull one of the books from the bag, but T’challa’s hand lands on his and pushes it back down.

“It's on the house" T’challa says simply.

The guy’s smile is tentative. “Yeah right, that's not a very sound business policy you know?”

“It isn't? Well, good thing I've never done it before, then" The other responds with a wink.

“I really can't…”

“Come on Sam” T’challa cuts into the guy’s objection. “You're the first person in forever to come in here for something asides from 'my house is haunted’ and 'i think the government bugged my bedside lamp’, allow me the small pleasure of feeling I'm actually helping”

The guy -Sam?- rolls his eyes. “It's a book on dog care, not on how to manage an orphanage, it's not that important”

"Well, who said I meant you?" T'challa frowns playfully, and Tony can't stop staring at the scene. It's like watching a big cat hunt, or how Jenifurr cozies up to him when he brings takeout . "I'm helping Redwing here because she's a good girl!" He directs the last part at the dog who just about pisses herself from happiness at being addressed so directly. "Are you a good girl Redwing? Of course you are, now tell your dad to take the book and buy you some treats with the money"

Sam laughs again and finally puts the books into his backpack. "Fine, I'll take it, but only because it's for her, I mean you couldn't possibly have any ulterior motive could you?"

"I wouldn't dream of it" T'challa lays a hand over his heart and makes no effort to hide his smile. "However, I just had the sudden urge to mention to the universe in general that I'm very fond of green tea, iced and with a hint of lemon"

"How interesting" Sam smirks.

"Oh, you heard that? What a coincidence" the man winks again and gets out from behind the counter to walk Sam to the door. "Be back soon Sam"

"We'll see about that" Sam replies with a wide smile and a blush. Well, his skin is actually too dark for Tony to actually see from this far, but he's willing to bet good money on it. Sadly, the man is gone before he can find an excuse to be near the entrance of the store and eavesdrop a bit more.

He whistles encouragingly when T'challa walks back in and answers his flustered smile with one of his own.

"You cat!" Tony bumps his shoulder. "I take it this means I won't get to spend the night anymore?"

T'challa laughs. "I think so, but hey I could introduce you to a few friends with wide beds of their own, that works for you?"

"As long as you're happy with cinnamon roll and his dog, I'll find a way"

T'challa regards him for a long moment, mouth curled in a half smile like Tony's a puzzle he's trying to put together. "You should call Loki"

"Yeah, not happening" Tony replies with a smile, not missing a beat. T'challa rolls his eyes. "Drop it" He warns. T'challa does and Tony pecks him once on the lips, soft and thankful and a good sort of goodbye.

\---

"Drop it" Tony warns. Wanda doesn't and Tony rubs his temples once more, his headache is not only not getting better, but coming back with a vengeance.

"How can you say that?!" She turns to face him after stopping her pacing across T'challa's living room. "Something obviously happened to Clint, we have to figure out what it was"

"You said it yourself Red, something _happened_ " Tony sighs. "It's already done and gone, we can't do a thing about i-"

"If he's still here then it means we _can_ do something" Wanda's hair whips around her head like the flames on a bonfire every time she makes a sharp turn to avoid furniture. "And if we can do something, then we should"

"Huh, I thought that was only a show for the vlog, color me surprised" T'challa mutters in the background and Tony glares at him because that's most definitely _not_ going to help calm Wanda.

"I'm sorry Wanda, but we won't. It was an accident, but we all could've gotten hurt back there and I won't have your deaths in my conscience." Tony doesn't know when or how he became the responsible adult, but Wanda's limp face and Peter1's bruised cheek haunt his mind.

"You can't keep me from doing it"

"Actually I can. Clint and the others are at my house"

"We've broken in before"

"And telling me was a rookie mistake, first thing I did after going back was installing new alarms on every possible entryway" Tony rolls his eyes. "Listen Wanda, if it were safe I'd allow it but I'm going to put it this way: Clint is dead. He can't get hurt or otherwise anymore. That doesn't go for us"

Wanda glares at him with such ferocity it takes a bit of work to not take a step back.

Then she speaks. "You're a coward, how disappointing" That said Wanda stomps her way down the stairs, into the shop and out the door, if the bell ringing and loud slam are any hint.

Peter2 jumps to his feet. "She doesn't mean it Mr. S, I'll talk to her" he says apologetically. "I'm sorry, Wanda just.. she gets involved, it's just the way she is"

"It's ok kid" Tony rubs a hand over his face. "You go after her, see that she gets some rest"

Peter2 nods and runs down the stairs, ignoring T'challa's 'I told you not to run in the store!' scream beautifully.

"What about you?" Tony asks to the room in general.

"I think it's nice you're worried for our safety" Says Peter1 simply. The casual tone brings smile to Tony's lips and he thinks for a moment he might be starting to understand how Jarvis and Obbie felt when dealing with him.

"You're gonna be the one trying to hack my alarm systems aren't you?"

“You have no basis for that affirmation” Peter1 replies immediately. T’challa chuckles in the background.

“I know your type, kid’ Tony groans softly. “Now go tell them I'll think about it” he says at last. “If I think you can be involved and not be in danger then I'll call you”

“Will do, thank you for the shower T’challa” Peter1 raises to his feet and faces Tony. “Also I know you didn't ask for my opinion but I'll give you a heads up, that excuse is going to buy you approximately a day and a half until Wanda manages to talk Peter into it”

“She won't have to talk _you_ into it?” Tony lifts an eyebrow. Peter1 smirks and winks an eye.

“Well, you know my type”

\--

“Hey Peps”

_Wow, I must be dreaming"_ Pepper’s voice comes dryly from the phone and Tony winces.

“Yes yes, it's been months, why haven't you called, texting only goes so far, you still need to sign an unnecessary amount of papers, am I missing anything?” He tries. He can feel Pepper's unimpressed face through the line.

_”You've got the basics covered. How have you been Tony?”_

“It's been… interesting, these last months”

_”Damage control interesting or normal interesting?”_

“Normal interesting. I've been meeting people”

_“New friends?”_

“Sorta. They're a good bunch, sometimes they stay at the house”

_”Nice, at least you haven't been locked up working”_

“Please, I've even been eating on time!” Tony jokes. “How about you?”

_”Not much, the new salary you signed for me is enough to pay for an assistant of my own and she manages most of the paperwork”_

“So you're tasting the sweet honeys of bossdom. Good Peps, you deserve it”

_”Now I know how you always looked so relaxed"_ She replies. Tony laughs.

“Hey, strutting around like you own the place is demanding in its way. Anyways, I've got a small project for you”

_”... I'm getting worried”_

“Don't be a buzzkill.” Tony rolls his eyes. “I need to investigate a person, you’re a journalism minor, make the connection”

_”Just tell me you're not using me to stalk someone”_

“Do you even know me Peps? I'm hurt by your tasteless accusations”

Pepper’s laughter is fresh and relaxingly familiar. _”Ok, ok, who’re we digging dirt on?”_

“A friend of mine wants to… shine some light on his past. I think I need to show you, mind coming over?” He asks with his most charming voice.”I'll take you shopping" he adds, to sweeten the deal.

She sighs. _“I guess I'm due for a holiday… this better be as good as Cabo, Tony”_

“It's actually much better, if you’re trying to choose the most life changing activity" he smiles “Pick you up at the airport on Friday?”

_”Sure. Do you have something I can investigate on the meanwhile?”_

“Whatever you can find on a circus trapeze artist called 'The Marvelous Hawkeye’ “

\--

“I just… I don't want to be overdressed you know?” T’challa repeats for the umpteenth time while unbuttoning the shirt he just put on. He grabs some more clothes before turning to Tony. “I haven't even chosen pants yet”

“Wear the black pants, I'm telling you” Tony rolls his eyes.

“Why are you so fixed on the black ones?” T’challa arches an eyebrow and gives the pants in his left hand a quizzical stare.

Tony shrugs. “They make your ass look amazing” He smirks at T’challa’s laugh. Much better. “Seriously, where’s the suave motherfucker from the bookstore with his free books and subtle flirting?”

“He short-circuited when Sam asked him out” T’challa admits. He's slipping a toned, deliciously long leg into the pants though, so Tony thinks he's gotten him to a point where he's calm enough to chat while dressing.

“What's so bad about that?” He asks.

“Nothing!” T’challa says hurriedly. “I just wasn't expecting it”

“And so the hunter becomes prey…” Tony sing songs amusedly. “Seriously, the guy likes you, what's the difference if he asks you out a week or a month later?”

“Well, that I haven't figured out how to impress him” T’challa says after a moment of silence.

“Kitten are you for real?” Says Tony, rubbing his forehead. “This is a date with a guy you seriously like, considering the fact that you dumped a grade A fuckbuddy just in case it happened, it's not a beauty pageant and you don't need to impress anybody”

He moves aside on the bed so that T’challa can come and sit and sigh like a highschool kid.

“It's just… You know it Tony. People like you and I, we're too much for some. And Sam’s not exactly in a space when he can tolerate too much of anything.” T’challa says in a low, thoughtful voice. “I like Sam. I don't want to overwhelm him, the man just came back from active duty, he lost his best friend for God’s sake”

“Hey I get it, just-” Tony pats his shoulder. It's a bit awkward, it's been awhile since he’s had to reassure anyone. “You just gotta trust him with his own recovery, I guess?” He suggests. “My best bud Rhodey, he's military too. Five years ago he crashed his F-15 Eagle over the Colorado desert because something went wrong during a reconnaissance mission. He… he made it out alive, but his spine wasn't so lucky”

“Sorry” T’challa mutters.

Tony shakes his head. “Don't be. The Army paid for his full treatment and I designed him some top notch prosthetics to help him stand and move again, but it took him over a year and a half before he could even walk to his bathroom on his own.” He stops, partly for breath, partly because he doesn't like remembering those times. “I stopped going out, if you can believe it, I went to visit him everyday and just sat and talked or watched movies with him until he told me to get the fuck out of his house because he wasn't having his best friend treat him like damaged goods.” He laughs. “That's Rhodey for you. Turns out me not going out and doing my own things made him feel like a burden, he started getting much better once we went from sitting in silence everyday to meeting once a week to talk about what I'd been up to" He smiles at T’challa’s confused face

“... I'm not feeling yo-”

“My point is” And then promptly cuts T’challa’s intervention. “You can't decide what makes him feel better, or when he's 'ready’ for things. He's a big boy, and you're going to have to trust him and follow the lead he gives you”

“You could've said that from the start" T’challa rolls his eyes. “But thanks” He adds with a small smile of his own.

“Anytime”

"But enough about my night, what about yours?" T'challa asks after a moment. Tony groans.

"I have to be at the airport in an hour to pick Pepper up. To be honest I'd rather hear about your fashion and emotional problems for the rest of the evening"

"... That bad?"

"I have to tell my best friend, who is also my ex girlfriend, that I'm going to hire her to investigate one of the ghosts that live in my house"

T'challa winces. "I see your point." He sighs. "And the kids?"

"Around. Wanda calmed down when I told her I had been investigating it" Tony still remembers, the girl had refused to speak to him so he'd ended up texting her. Peter2 had called a bit later to tell that she was still grumpy but had emerged from her Google search about circus history. "I told them I didn't want them in the house today but I'd call them if things with Pepper worked"

"You think they will?"

Tony smiles "So what shoes do you plan on wearing?"

\--

Tony does what he's best at and steers the conversation away from the real topic for as long as he can.

He brings Pepper home from the airport, chatting about how the business is back home, about how Obbie's doing, about the pics Rhodey sent of his holiday in Spain.

"This is a very nice place" Pepper nods approvingly once she's sitting on the couch. "Now why did you make me look up a circus artist from 1822?"

Tony whistles; Clint is old as balls then. "To be fair, I had no idea he was from 1822. Did you find anything?"

She rolls her eyes. "Don't be ridiculous, of course I did." She then snaps her handbag open to pull out a folder labelled 'Tony's new weird hobby' and sets it on the table. "His name was Clint Barton, but his stage name was the Marvelous Hawkeye. He did trapeze and ropewalking, and his trademark was shooting at targets with bow and arrow while doing so"

"Showoff..."

"A bit, yes. He never missed a target, at least not while any audience watched" Pepper continues. "He disappeared from the public eye in 1848." She passes the folder over; Tony opens it to find prints of old photographs that show Clint in various ridiculous outfits... Is that a mask?

"So what does your friend need?" Pepper asks. "This was a very shallow look, next step would be going into wider bases to find out if this Clint guy has any living descendants, then finding where the family has lived and look through local records"

Tony whistles "You know your stuff... Hey, was there anything in there about a woman named Kate?" The lights flicker a bit as he says it, he hopes Pepper doesn't notice. She frowns.

"Nothing, didn't even see the name mentioned."

"That's good. Uh... I think it would be better to introduce you to my friend?" Tony pinches the bridge of his nose to try and contain the urge to groan. "You trust me, right Peps?"

"I do?" Pepper's frown deepens. "What have you gotten into this time?"

"It's more like... Ugh, I really don't think I can explain it" He loses the battle and groan. "Just... Ok, turns out when I moved in, someone else was uh, already here?"

"... You had squatters? Are you living with squatters?"

"Sorta, but no" Tony chuckles even as he feels Steve's heavily displeased gaze on his nape. "I just want you to keep in mind that these guys are friendly ok? I've been living with them for almost two years, they're cool and I'm trying to help them"

Pepper sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose like _she's_ the one in a complicated situation. The nerve of her.

"Bring them in, I guess it's better that I see it in person" she says

"You have no idea. Guys?" Tony calls out to the living room, then crosses his arms tightly. "Come say hi"

To Pepper's merit, she reacts considerably well to four translucent people appearing in her boss-slash-best friend-slash-exboyfriend's living room, even when said people are clearly floating, one of them is half a person and another looks like an extra from a gore movie directed by overly enthusiastic teenagers with fake blood to spare.

"Are you ok?" Tony asks after a long, silent minute drags itself past. "Can you talk or something? You're making me nervous" he adds, making a point of leaning forward on the sofa and through Bruce's stomach to come closer to her.

Pepper blinks a couple times, takes a deep breath and very pointedly pinches her own thigh, not looking away from the ghosts at any moment. Then, she turns to Tony.

"I'm going to need a cup of tea. No sugar, no milk, a squeeze of lemon." She instructs. "Make sure half of it is alcohol."

Tony nods obediently and gets up right away to fulfill this completely reasonable request.

\--

"So there was another one?" Pepper's hold on her cup is much firmer now that most of the liquid is gone, and she doesn't look like a corpse anymore.

Steve nods. "Yes ma'am. His name was Thor, he died in a car crash, but fixing his unfinished business with his brother helped him move past"

"Past. Nice. So what is this, is Tony like your... Spirit guide? I don't know how to say it, it sounds ridiculous either way" she says. Tony toasts her with his glass of root beer.

"We know, that's why we don't mention it" he smirks. "They just need things and we help them find them"

"We?"

"Oh, right." Tony slaps his forehead softly. Then he opens the YouTube app on his phone and pulls up a video from his watching history before passing it to Pepper. "These are Wanda and her brother Peter and their friend Peter. The guy from the bookstore, T'challa, he helped me find them" he explains. "The vlog is mostly theatrics, but Wanda's really got it, she was the one that let me see into Thor's memories."

"Who's the angry guy?" Pepper points at a face in the screen. Tony leans to look closer.

"Loki"

"And Loki is...?"

Tony gives her his award winning smile. "Complicated and unrelated. Anyways that's the whole team, they'll want to meet you".

"I have no idea what I was expecting when I came here, but this wasn't it" Pepper's flat look brings a smile to Tony's face.

"Funny, I think that a lot"

Pepper turns to Clint then. "So what is it? You don't remember who you were?"

"Of course I do, don't be ridiculous... It's only the last part that gets hazy." Clint shrugs, his eyes are locked on the floor and he's worrying his lip with his teeth. "I just... It feels like I'm forgetting something important"

"Something about this Kate girl?" Tony asks. Clint nods stiffly, frowning. "Was she your girlfriend?"

"What? No!" Clint turns to face him, his frown has deepened into a full scowl and he motions slapping the back of Tony's head. "Ew, it was nothing like that, she was like... I don´t know, but it feels much closer than that"

"Uh... Then why doesn't she show up in any of the articles I found?" Pepper asks after a moment of tense silence.

"She didn't perform, she didn't like circus life at all and-" he stops short then, and when he turns to Tony his face is pale (paler?) and strained. "Get out"

"What?" Tony frowns, the house is getting colder and he takes a tentative step towards Pepper. "What's-"

"It's coming agai-" is all Clint manages to say before his eyes roll back into his head and his words are garbled by a rushing fountain.

Tony pulls Pepper to her feet and out the door immediately, and this time he's careful enough to grab Pepper's suitcase and his overnight bag (which he has because he lives with a bunch of natural disasters and being prepared pays) in passing.

Pepper stands there in the sidewalk just staring at the rivers of water running out the door they just went through. She pokes a puddle with the tip of her shiny black shoe before turning to look at Tony.

"I'm gonna need another drink"

\--

"Anything new?" Tony asks. Pepper shakes her head justs as Wanda and the Peters' snap up to look at them. Tony wants to sigh, he never signed up for his house to become mystery central or homework club but T'challa's in this sort of honeymoon phase with his Sam guy and made it very clear that they were to make themselves scarce until Sam and him were at a point where he could introduce him to the weirdness that is his life.

"There's literally nothing about a woman with that name, according to all records Clint was an only child, lost his mother at a young age and didn't have any significant others" Pepper explains.

Tony sighs. "Well we can't ask him about her, contrary to what my amazing confidence might suggest, I don't have the money to pay for industrial cleaning every other day." They've taken to avoiding the name altogether, just in case Clint can hear them.

"What about the circus people?" Peter1 asks. "The people in the trope, they must have known him well. Maybe they had journals and we can find out who she was or what happened to Clint"

"That's a pretty good idea" Pepper says, before going to town on her computer. Tony looks over her shoulder, she's got a sort of flow diagram with clickable links that shows just about every stage in Clint's life. She clicks on 'later years', then 'Cirque de la Nuit', and brings up a list of names and pictures of people who can't be anything but performers.

"... Is that guy half lizard?" Tony asks, pointing at a particular picture before Pepper bats his hand away.

"It was a skin condition, now shut up" she pats the spot next to her on the couch and he goes to sit. He also pointedly ignores Wanda and the Peters hurrying over to occupy his place behind the couch's back. "Hm... I thought this would be the case" Pepper hums after a lot of clicking and scrolling.

"What?" Peter2's leaning so far over the couch he's practically bent double over Pepper's shoulder.

"Most of these people were outcasts. It wasn't a nice time, they joined the circus to be slightly less discriminated." Pepper says. "Most of them never saw the inside of a school, I'd be surprised if any of them knew how to write."

"Bummer" Tony mutters. He's staring at a picture of Clint, in full costume with a shaggy dog looking up adoringly at him. "What about the circus owner?"

"The owner? Let me..." Pepper scrolls back to the top of the list and clicks on 'Maynard Tibolt'. It's a guy with a terrible moustache and an even worse hat, standing in front of the circus tent and gesturing smugly at it. "This guy did have education... He died in 1880, no next of kin... And his possessions are kept at the World Circus Museum in Wisconsin" Pepper looks back at Tony with a 1000 watt smile he can't help but return. "We got a lead, boss"

"When are we leaving?" Wanda's question douses over them like cold water. From the determination in her tone, Tony knows she did it on purpose.

"It's a two hundred dollar flight Red. Unless you three start selling meth-laced lemonade right now I really doubt you can afford it" Tony smirks.

Peter2 rolls his eyes. "First off, you're taking the 'kids' thing way too far. Second off, we could drive"

"I'm not driving for fourteen hours AND we can't fit five people in my car, it's a two seater, it's extremely expensive and you're not going anywhere near it" Tony directs a pointed glare at Peter2.

"We could get another car" Peter1 pipes in. Tont can feel Pepper's radiated amusement and it's pissing him off.

"Sure, we'll paint it green and blue and name it the Mystery Machine, that works for you?" He asks. The teens stare at him flatly and he groans. "If you're too young to have watched Scooby Doo then you're too young to travel cross country solving mysteries, case closed" With that, and Pepper's laughter, he stands up and goes up the stairs. He needs to book plane tickets.

\--

The rental car is a fairly new model, spacious and has a good engine.

Tony still feels like a middle aged soccer mom as he unlocks the trunk for Peter1 to load his backpack and assures aunt May that yes, he'll make Peter1 call her as soon as they get there, they'll be back on Sunday afternoon and he'll make sure they stay out of trouble.

"Look at you, you're taking kids on field trips" Pepper's voice is thick with suppressed laughter. "Domestic life suits you well, Tony"

"I'm starting to regret asking you for help"  
\--

"So who's this Loki guy?" Pepper asks after a careful look over her shoulder.

Tony looks through the rearview mirror; Wanda and Peter1 have their earphones on, she's nodding along to some tune, and his are connected to a WiiU he tilts and buttons in frantically. Peter2 is asleep and he looks so calm Tony has trouble believing this is the kid that downs two to four Monster energy drinks near daily.

He shrugs. "He was- is? Thor's brother." He responds at last. "I met him at a club one night, we went back to my place and had a good time"

Pepper arches an eyebrow. "So a one night stand?"

"More like a two night stand I guess?" Tony shrugs again. He's not looking at Pepper, but he can feel her eyes on the side of his face. "What?"

"Why do you shut down whenever someone brings him up then? You've had like a million one night stands. You even slept with the bookstore guy didn't you?"

"A million is an inflated cipher and you're my friend and can't judge me" Tony smiles at Pepper's chuckle. "And yeah, T'challa was good. We're friends now."

"And Loki?"

"We're not"

Pepper sighs like Tony's being the world's most stubborn child and he grips the wheel tight; he can feel what's coming.

"So you like him?"

Tony huffs angrily. "I don't know the guy Peps"

"That's not what I asked" She replies calmly, and Pepper would know, wouldn't she? That he goes for lonely people, for sad people that he can work on making happy because then he can ignore his own loneliness and his own problems. "Where is he now?"

Tony drives in silence for a few minutes. He's thought about it, he has no doubt Pepper will too. "Thor was from Rochester. He went back to his family so I'm guessing that's where" he says in the end.

As expected, it takes Pepper exactly three seconds to connect the dots. "Rochester is only two or three hours away once we get to Baraboo." She says simply. "I can manage them"

"He's gonna think I'm stalking him and threaten me again"

"You aren't though. You're just checking on him, that's a common thing to do for a friend" Pepper pushes

"We're not friends" Tony says. He catches Pepper's small smile through the corner of his eye and he knows he's driving three extra hours.

"You gotta start somewhere. Try giving him your number like a normal person"

"I _definitely_ regret having asked you for help"

\--

He drops them off at the museum and the state line and remaining three hours go by in a blink. He's not nervous at all, time just flies when you enjoy driving, he tells himself.

It's only when he's a few streets into the city itself that he realizes he has no idea where Thor lived or how to get there.

He's about to go back when Pepper's face materializes in his mind to give him a disappointed stare. Tony doesn't know if it's because he's not following her advice or because he's giving up too easily, but he's never been able to stand Pepper's disappointment so he asks a passerby for the address of the nearest library and drives there wanting nothing more than to turn back.

"What can I help you with sweetie?" Asks the librarian, who's got to be a billion years old.

"Uh, I'm looking for a newspaper article, a friend of mine died here a few years ago, and I've been abroad for a while. I never knew if his family moved from their old house and I wanted to check on them" Tony says, trying to sound confident and not like the shitty liar he knows he is.

The librarian's wrinkled face twists in what he has to assume is a sad expression.

"That's terrible, what was your friend's name?"

"Thor. He was hit by a drunk driver? His friends were with him at the time, bu-"

"Ah, Thor..." The librarian interrupts him. She looks down and, if possible, seems to age ten more years in the span of a second. "A real sweet boy, he used to come here all the time when he was a child" she says. "Him and little Loki, always coming in for books on pirates and Vikings and explorers."

Tony feels a pang in his chest and it's not just because the woman knows Loki, but because she knew Thor, and she's a living proof that he walked the earth and laughed and lived and Tony feels like the trip was worth it if just for the fact that he now knows what seven years old Thor liked to read.

"It's been hard for the family, especially since Loki left like that right after the funeral" the woman continues, unbeknownst to the effect her words have on him. "Fandral came a while ago, he's grown into quite the handsome young man, he said Loki was back. I wish he'd come to see this old woman, I never got to tell him how sorry I was about Thor" she says. Her voice cracks and Tony goes into overdrive.

"I'm sure he knows, Miss..."

"Oh just call me Urd sweetie, everyone does around here" Urd pats the hand he placed on her shoulder. "And yes, I'm sure he knows, but still..."

"I'll make sure to tell him he should come" He promises. "They're still living there then?" Tony asks, fingers crossed.

"Yes, yes, still in Meadow Park, on the 7th" she nods. "Say hello from me, if you can"

"Will do" Tony grins. "Thanks for the help, Urd"

She waves the matter away carelessly and goes back behind the counter while Tony tries not to run back to his car.

As expected, he misses the seventh and ends up stopping in front of a park to check his GPS.

He looks around to distract himself while the app loads; there's a team of teenagers kicking a soccer ball around, a couple women and a man talking in a loose circle each with a covered stroller of their own, a girl throwing a frisbee at a dog.

Then he reels back, mind blank because Loki's sitting right there on a bench, notebook in his lap and gaze unfocused and Tony has to steel himself not to flee right then because he's _so not ready_ yet.

In the end what moves him to take a step is that Loki might seem healthier, but he still looks as lonely as the night Tony left him standing at the threshold of the guest bedroom.

"Hey. Please don't kill me, I'm not stalking you, promise." He says as greeting. He's careful not to touch Loki or stand too close to him, and he gets the thought that maybe this is what T'challa's so scared about with Sam.

Loki startles and looks up at him. His eyes widen and his eyebrows rise, but he makes no move to grab his pocket knife or tackle him so Tony takes it as a good sign.

"I'm not going to kill you, but I'd like an explanation as to why you're here" Loki says. His eyes narrow and drill into him like daring him to lie, and Tony knows it's not a game he can win so he doesn't play at all.

"I had to drive the kids to Baraboo, and I wanted to see how you were doing" Tony admits, because it's the truth.

"How did you even know where to find me?" Loki asks again after a pause.

"Thor mentioned he used to live in Rochester." Tony shrugs. "Once I got here a nice librarian gave me your address but I got lost. Lucky coincidence finding you here I guess"

"Yes, lucky..." Loki scoots down the bench and stares forward. He says nothing more and Tony sits next to him.

"Afternoon stroll?" Tony asks cautiously, not turning to look at him.

Loki shrugs. "Came to watch my little brother." He gestures forward and Tony's surprised to recognize the child from Thor's memory, all grown up and running around with his friends. "He hasn't talked to me since I came back"

Oh.

"Oh" says Tony.

"Things are never easy I guess." Much to his surprise, Loki laughs. "But he's been leaving as soon as he notices me the whole week and he hasn't left today, so I guess it's a work in progress?"

"Aren't we all?" Tony says. He turns a little, not to face Loki but to see him better. "You'll be ok. You were gone a long time, but you're back now"

"Are there still ghosts at your house?" Loki asks abruptly. Tony's not dumb enough to think this is something other than a means to dodge uncomfortable topics, but he goes along with it.

"Let me tell you, I didn't drive fourteen hours just to admire Baraboo, Wisconsin" he deadpans. Loki chuckles. Victory. "We're trying to find out how Clint died so we can help him, and his former ringmaster's stuff is kept at the World Circus Museum"

"You've got a lot of free time, don't you?" Loki smiles sideways at him.

"It's less free time and more a band of college kids that won't let me work in peace until I solve my ghost issues" He admits.

"Such a hard life for the handsome rich bachelor" Loki rolls his eyes and bumps Tony's shoulder with his.

Tony smiles. "I'm gonna ignore the sarcasm and take that as the compliment it was clearly meant to be" he says. "Got pen and paper?"

Wordlessly, Loki flips his notebook to the last page and passes it to him along with a chewed up pencil. Tony scribbles a number before slipping the pencil in the spiral and handing it back.

"I've got to go back and see if they found something." Tony stands up. Loki remains seated, not looking at him. "It was nice seeing you"

"Same. Good luck, I guess." Loki responds after a silence so long Tony's begun to think the conversation is over. "Tell the kids I'm sorry I pulled a knife on them"

Tony laughs. "It was a sobering life lesson for them" He contemplates just leaving right then but he's come too far to end it like that. "If you wanna talk or anything just... Shoot me a text or something"

Loki looks down at the number in his notebook. It takes a moment before he looks back up, but when he does there's a hint of a smile in his lips.

"Drive safe Tony" is all Loki says.Tony thinks it means _´don´t die´_ when coming from Loki, and the thought is both saddening and heartwarming. He smiles back and gets to his car. It was easier than he expected.

\--

He drives straight to the motel Pepper booked rooms in, and finds her having pizza with the kids. She's barefoot and crosslegged on the bed and the sight of her relaxing brings a smile to his face.

"If there isn't enough pizza left for me we're going to have a problem" Tony warns jokingly before snatching a piece right out of Peter1's hands. "Got any work done while I was out?"

"We got _all_ the work done while you were out there holding a boombox under Loki's window, thank you very much" Peter2 says, handing Peter1 his own slice. Lovely. Also how old do these kids think he is?

Wanda rolls his eyes. "Pepper got us an appointment to read Tibolt's journals tomorrow."

Pepper waves a hand smugly. "I told the museum administrator I'm drafting a book on the history of circus arts in America" she explains. "If he asks, you're paying for the project and they're my interns. Except Peter, he's your assistant" she points to Peter1 who gives a resigned nod.

"Nice, get me a drink then" Tony mock orders. He sits on the bed too, catches the cold can Peter1 throws his way and relaxes. They've got this, they're almost done.

\--

_June 3rd, 1835_  
_One of the horses broke a leg, I sold it for good coin to the town's shoemaker. Picked up a new kid today, Clint. Says his father roughed him up a tad too much. He can do handstands and killed a sparrow from twenty feet away with a single stone._

The journals are old. They have to handle them with protective gloves and copy the passages they want by hand. By the time they find the first mention of interest Tony's sure this is going to qualify as one of the most tedious days in his life.

_August 15th, 1835_  
_The town is fine, we've been here for only two days but everyone's itching for tickets. We named Clint 'The Marvelous Hawkeye', Balthazar taught him to use the bow and he learned trapeze with Xing, he's going out for the first time today. He´s so nervous he´s been sick two times so far, I told him I´m not going to keep feeding him if he´ll just waste it all before a performance_

Tony loved the circus as a child, but this guy is not nice at all, and he's glad he never knew what happened behind closed doors at his favorite spectacle.

_March 23rd, 1840_  
_Been getting a lot of kids lately. Sometimes the locals pay us to take unwanted kids with us when we leave town. Most of the time they learn the ropes and keep their heads low, but the lions have gotten a tad fatter. Maria and Clint are not so happy, they tell the kids stories at night, if it keeps them all quiet it's alright with me_

Tony has to remind himself this is a historical document and circuses don't work like this anymore. He manages to not tear it to pieces by keeping in mind that they're getting closer to the date of Clint's disappearance and he won't have to read about this nasty guy anymore.

_October 19th, 1844_  
_Clint brought in a child. She's a skinny thing, won't be good for anything. He threatened to tell the police about how we get kids, so I let her stay. Told him the same as when he brought that ugly mutt last year, he has to pay for her out his own pocket._

Huh. Clint brought in a girl? Tony's heartbeat speeds up, they're on to something. Wanda's hand on his forearm tightens and he knows his hunch is right.

_November 22nd, 1844_  
_Clint goes everywhere with the girl. He feeds her better than I feed the other kids and he's teaching her how to use a bow. She's good but when I told him to put her in his act he told me Kate didn't want to perform in public. We had a few rounds, but as long as he keeps paying for her and the other kids don't get any ideas I don't give a rat's ass about her_

"This is her" Peter2 says breathlessly. "She wasn't his girlfriend, he just..."

"He adopted a little sister" Wanda completes her twin's thought.

"But why doesn't he remember her then?" Peter1 frowns. "What happened after that?"

"I was just about to keep reading, if you're all done speculating" Pepper rolls her eyes.

_May 9th, 1845_  
_Clint wants to leave. He says he wants to settle down with Kate somewhere, that she deserves better than this life. Who does he think he is? He's no better than us and neither his his little bitch. Told him to fuck off or I'd tell the authorities he stole her_

The air grows heavier in the room, as I'd they're all sensing what's going to happen.

_June 10th, 1845_  
_God Almighty forgive me, I did what was necessary to protect my circus. Beth came to me last night, told me she'd overheard Clint and his little leech talking, the treacherous son of a bitch was planning to escape in the middle of the night, said he'd even bought train tickets so that they could get away quickly. I didn't want to believe it, I practically raised him and now he wants to betray me._  
_I enlisted Balthazar and Maximus, good chaps, to go talk to Clint with me. The bastard had the gall to tell me there was nothing I could do to stop him and that if I didn't let him go and take Kate with him he'd alert everyone of 'how things really were' in here, as if we hadn't been keeping him alive his whole life._  
_I couldn't lose my biggest attraction, the girl had to go. I ordered Maximus to go bring her but Clint charged us, and things happened too fast._  
_Let it be known he left us no other choice, he wouldn't calm down. We drowned him in a barrel, kept him down until he stopped fighting. His stupid dog bit me, and I couldn't control myself I killed it too._  
_We went looking for the girl, figured we could scare her into keeping her head low and obeying, but we couldn't find her. Curse her, this was all her fault, the little demon turned me into a killer, may she rot in hell and never cross my path again._

The silence is thick after Pepper reads the last line. Tony´s grateful when Peter2 takes a deep breath; trust the kid to break a horrible silence when even he´s been incapacitated.

“He just wants to know what happened to his little sister. He never got to know if she even lived” Peter2 says like the answer to their dilemma was so obvious he couldn´t understand why they had to travel all the way here to get it. Tony looks at Wanda and thinks maybe it was, at least to her brother.

The girl in question nods at Peter2´s words. “We need to find Kate then”

Pepper turns the pages, trying to find out anything else that might be of use, but there´s no further mention of Kate. At last, tucked into the back cover of the journal there´s a worn down photograph of the circus troupe. Clint is there in a corner, with his ridiculous outfit and his ugly dog and a thin stick of a girl with messy black hair clinging to his hand.

Tony wants to die. If the girl even made it out of the town before the circus people caught on with her, it´s been more than a century and a half and her descendants -if she even had any- could be anywhere in the world by now.

“Let´s go back to the hotel for the time being ok?” Pepper suggest gently, so Tony´s sure his frustration must be plain on his face. He says nothing, and follows the group back to the car.

\--

Pepper leaves the day after they get back to New York, promises to keep looking and makes him promise he´ll call her as soon as they find something. Tony does, but they both know this is most likely a lost battle and they´re not pretending otherwise.

Which is why Tony can´t do anything but stare in confusion when Peter1 comes by a week later and tells him he knows where to find Kate.

“... So you just posted it on a forum?” Tony asks. He can´t believe he forgot about the freaking Internet, maybe the kids had a point and he’s really getting old. He shakes the thought off his head as Peter1 nods.

“Yup, we uploaded the episode with Clint and our subreddit went ballistic, I just had to ask the spooks for help identifying Kate with the copy we made of the photograph and they reposted it all over the site” He explains “I got a message about two or three hours later” And here he sits in front of Tony´s laptop and logs into his Reddit account.

There´s an ongoing conversation with ´PM_me_cat_memes´ that begins with _“Hey, a friend from school ran into your thread with the picture of the girl and said I should look it up, check this out”_ and a link.

It takes them to an image gallery with two pictures. One shows a young woman in a flowery dress standing with two other girls in front of a worn out building; they´re all wearing plain aprons and the blonde girl on the right holds a tray under her arm, so Tony assumes they´re waitresses or the like.

The second is a wedding photograph, the black haired woman is still young, but a bit less so, and her smile is radiant. She´s wearing a white dress with a tight bodice and a lacy collar, and she´s leaning in the arms of a handsome black man in a suit. It doesn´t escape Tony´s attention that the couple´s clothes look far from new and they don´t seem to be standing at a church, and the message attached as the album´s description pretty much confirms his suspicions.

_”This is my great grandmother Kate Bradley (née Bishop), she was a barmaid in Arizona around 1850, she looks just like the girl in your picture aged up a few years doesn´t she? She moved up north some time later and ended up marrying my great grandfather Elijah Bradley in 1862. I don´t think it was really legal at the time, but they didn´t really care. I got more pictures of her if you wanna see them, I just need to ask my grandma where they are”_

"Do you think we got her?" Peter1 asks slowly as he minimizes the window. It almost sounds fearful, and Tony exhales tiredly; it's not his job to reassure these kids.

"There's a way to find out" he says in the end. Because it pays to be prepared, they unplug the laptop and take it over to the small service patio Tony thanks his past self for installing, and they call Clint.

"What's up?" The ghost asks. Natasha's vague mist is barely visible behind him, but it exudes a heavy feeling of anticipation. Tony has no doubt she knows what they found, and is just as anxious as they are to try it out.

"We want to show you a couple pictures" explains Tony. "To see if you recognize the person in them"

Clint nods and they open the laptop. Tony types his password and looks as Peter1 brings the image album back; Clint looks grim, he knows who they've been looking for and Tony can't imagine he's too keen on seeing the people from the circus again, even if it's just a picture, but he'll do it because it might lead them to her.

When Peter1 turns the screen around, Clint's face changes, it looks somewhere between the satisfied recognition you get when watching a YouTube clip from that childhood movie you were beginning to think you imagined, and the heart ache of looking at an old picture album.

They still get an ankle deep pool of cold water, but the damages are way less and they know they're on the right track.

\--

"So this girl has become a follower of the vlog, but we can't exactly ask her to unbury her great grandmother and ship her to us" Tony speaks while flipping pages. He's finally allowed back at the bookstore, less because the honeymoon period ended and more because he threatened to come yell under T'challa's window at four am.

"A tough request, yes" T'challa agrees. When Tony looks up he's smiling down at his phone and Tony has exactly zero doubts that he's not really being listened. His own phone crackles on the table next to the book and Pepper's voice comes through the speaker.

_"Is there a way to take Clint over there?"_ she asks

"That's what we're all looking into, but every book we've found says ghosts can only really be bound to their own bones or something that bears as much meaning to them as those" Tony answers. What's more 'you' than your bones anyways? These books don't really give out any examples.

"You said he had a dog no?" Asks T'challa after an incoming text that Tony's willing to bet contains a picture of Redwing "Get a collar and put him there"

"Kinky kitty" Tony smirks. It's a bit annoying, how T'challa goes on three dates and forgets about everyone else, but he can forgive a friend. "Should tell Sammy to be careful"

_"Bow, Tony!"_ cracks the phone. Tony bows, because obeying Pepper is pretty much ingrained in his system. _"Tony?"_

"Yeah? I bowed, what was that for?" He asks.

_"You what? No! I just- how do you own a multimillionaire company?"_

"I have very specific skills and a laser like focus" Tony smirks. He thinks he figured out what she means, but making Pepper laugh is always a prize in and on itself, and he enjoys the sound.

_"Bow and arrow, I meant"_ she says when she's done laughing _"He was a performer his whole life, and those were his props, maybe they'll work?"_

Tony thinks it over; he could buy one arrow from the sports supplies store downtown and have Wanda try it, he can even make it with time to spare.

"Ok, I'm going to try your idea because I really don't fancy digging around in the desert for Clint's skull, I'll call you later to tell you if it worked" he says to Pepper, and to T'challa "See you later kitty"

_"Good luck, tell the kids I said hi"_ says Pepper.

T'challa doesn't say a thing, and Tony doubts he even noticed he left the store. He rolls his eyes and closes Pepper's contact screen to let the kids know to meet him later.

He's got a new text from an unknown number, and he opens it warily after climbing into the car. Maybe the ghosts possessed a forgotten cell phone and managed to text him?

_"Went to visit Urd today. She says a 'very handsome man' came asking about me. Was it you or should I be on the lookout for another stalker?"_

Tony feels his lips curling into a smile on their own.

_"That depends, would you catalogue me as 'very handsome' or merely 'strikingly hot'? Answer truthfully, this is a serious matter"_ he presses send and goes to place the phone into the cup holder. It pings and vibrates right before he twists the key in the switch, and he picks it back up, still smiling.

In the end he makes it to the store right as they're closing, but he manages to get the arrow and drive back home without further issues.

\--

  
“Man, this is amazing!” Clint speaks in Tony´s ear. It´like a dull murmur mixed with a soft tingling, and Tony get the urge to shake his head.

“It´s just an airport” Tony whispers. He looks around at the people walking to and from gates, and the airplanes he can see rolling across through the glass panes. It must be pretty impressive for someone who only got as far as the steam train, technologically speaking.

The arrow sits heavy in his briefcase as he walks towards his gate and into the plane.

“Are you sure this thing can fly? It´s way too big man, I´m not worried about me but you´re pretty killable still” Clint asks. Tony chuckles to himself; he´s glad he chose a window seat, he will be able to talk to Clint and look like he´s just recording voice notes or whatever.

“It can, promise” He replies. Clint had been pretty excited ever since he got to leave the house.

Wanda had said it should last, that now Clint was bound to the arrow instead of the house, but he was still a bit nervous. What if he got to this girl's house and she let them in into a weird crypt and Clint never came out? He wouldn't blame her for calling the police.

"Why didn't you bring the kids in here too?" Clint says. Tony rolls his eyes.

"Because they're getting too spoiled. I'm not going to pay for ninety six dollars apiece for them, they're college kids, they should travel cheap" he smirks to himself, imagining Peter2 fidgeting in a bus seat while Peter1 and Wanda try their best to ignore him.

"What?!" Clint's voice sounds scandalized and Tony jumps a bit in his seat. "Ninety six- that's a fortune!"

"... Is it?"

"I made forty cents a day at the circus Tony

... Right, inflation. Tony nodded. "Well, enjoy the luxury ride Clint, you're going to see your little sister in style" Tony winks. Clint stays silent, and Tony thinks he might be taking a look around the plane but he can still feel his presence by his side. "Are you ok?"

"I don't think she will show up" Clint says in the end, in a voice so soft Tony can barely hear it over the plane's engine firing up.

"What? Why?" Tony frowns. As far as he knows, Clint and Kate had been in pretty good terms when he died.

"Well, you know... We don't- we're not meant to stay here" Clint begins after a slight hesitance. "We stay here because we have things to do, like Thor, or... Because we did something wrong. I think I'm in the latter category." He sighs.

Tony groans. "Clint what are you talking about?" He snarls, struggling to keep his voice low. "You died attempting to rescue a little girl from forced labor and give her a better life, what could possibly be wrong about that?"

"I didn't try to take them all"

The retort comes so quick and dryly that it takes Tony a bit off guard.

"You what?"

"I didn't try to save any other kid" Clint's silhouette materializes in the empty seat next to Tony, and luckily he gets the feeling no one else can see him. Clint looks miserable, his eyes fixed on the back of the seat in front of him, his hands wringing each other on his lap. "I only cared what happened to Kate, I could've taken more of the children but I was only going to take her." He sighs. "I wouldn't be surprised if she thought I was a selfish coward for leaving the others behind"

Tony observes him for a moment, wondering how to reassure Clint because he knows deep down that what he says is true, but he can't find it in himself to blame a man for caring about a loved one over anyone else.

"You can't save everyone, Clint" he says in the end. "Even if you'd tried, they would've found you even faster with ten kids trailing after you. You tried to do right by Kate, and you did." Tony makes sure to put a special emphasis on the last part. "You did, you bought her the time she needed to escape, and she survived and she lived."

"But only her" Clint pipes up at the end. His voice is heavy and thick, like his mouth is dry.

"You changed her life entirely. She'd have died at the circus otherwise, either performing or killed because she refused to perform. You gave her the biggest opportunity of her life. I don't think that's something to be ashamed of" and he pulls out his cell phone to check if he's got any new messages before the flight attendants begin their pre-take off rounds, and turns it off after replying to Loki's latest message.  
\--

"So how was the trip?" Tony smiles happily on the cab to PM_me_cat_pictures' house, after they've picked up the three uncomfortable teenagers at the bus station.

"Fuck you" grunts Peter2, and it's music to Tony's ears. "I've never been so bored in my _life_ "

"That's not a very nice way to thank your show's primary investor" Tony goes back to his phone. "Did you let her know we're coming?"

"Yep" responds Peter1. "She'll wait for us at the cementary, said her family has a crypt there"

"... Do I need to call the police?" Asks the cab driver. His eyes are still on the road, but his tone is concerned.

"All entirely legal my friend" Tony reassures him.

"My uncle brought us to meet my friend Sequoia from the internet" Wanda pipes up. She's overdone it with the makeup again, and her eyes look kind of unnerving. "I met her at a message board for followers of the old religion, she says her family crypt has all the right vibrations and we're going to try to contact our ethereal ancestors in there" she explains in a dreamy voice. Tony makes a note to ask her if she's considered a career in theater before. The cab driver just looks uncomfortable.

"My sister is a bit dramatic" Peter2 stage-whispers into the driver's ear. The man nods nervously and speaks no more until they stop at the cementary.

Tony pays the designated amount, and the man speeds up. Tony has his doubts on whether or not he'll call the police.

The girl is waiting for them there with a guy standing next to her. They both have a hand firmly tucked in a pocket, and Tony applauds their precaution, but stays back, since he definitely isn't eager to get pepper sprayed in the face.

"Hey there, I'm Wanda, this is my brother Peter and my friend Peter" Wanda steps forward and extends a hand the other girl shakes briefly.

"Nancy" says the girl, and gestures to her companion. "And my best friend Allan"

" 'Sup" Peter2 advances forward to shake Allan and Nancy's hands, and Peter1 follows. Nancy's eyes fix on Tony then.

"Is he the Mr. X from your videos?" She asks

"Yup" Peter1 replies. "He has the item with our ghost. We blurry his face out and we can blurry yours too if you want to show up on the scene"

Nancy nods. "Can I see him? The ghost"

Tony becomes the target of all stares, and he strengthens his grip on the briefcase. "I'd rather do this where people can't see us, he can get a bit overwhelmed, and you kinda look like your great grandma" He explains. Nancy has the same bright eyes, black hair and pointed nose Kate had in her days.

However, Allan frowns. "Yeah, no, we're not getting out of sight until you've proven you're the real deal" he declares.

Tony sighs. "Fine, let's just get behind the wall, but I won't be made responsible of property damage" he warns.

Once they're all safely hidden behind the cementary wall -the fence is left open wide so Allan and Nancy can escape freely if Tony and the kids turn out to be super weird kidnappers- Tony opens the briefcase, and pulls the arrow out.

"Wakey wakey Clint" he mutters to it. "Someone wants to meet you"

At first nothing happens, and it takes all the aplomb Tony has trained through speaking in front of thousands of people to not be embarrassed under the judging stares of these two teens.

"Come out you coward, it's not Kate" Tony gives the arrow a shake. For a second he thinks it still didn't work, but then a drop of water splashes on the ground. "There we go"

"What?" Nancy frowns.

"Welcome Clint" says Wanda, looking up. Clint is hovering above them, dripping silvery water and glaring at Tony.

"I'm not a coward" says Clint simply.

Tony shrugs. "You were making me look bad. Now say hi to Nancy" he gestures to the girl "she's Kate's great granddaughter"

Nancy and Allan's eyes are open wide, and he looks a bit pale. Nancy steps forward on shaky legs.

"Peter told me about you, and you were in Kate's diaries" she whispers. "You're Clint?"

"The one and only" Clint replies, but it lacks the flair, and to Tony it sounds nervous and almost afraid.

Nancy smiles. "It's a pleasure to meet you" she extends a hand. "I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you"

Clint stares at her for a moment, then stretches his hand out. It goes through Nancy's, but they make the shaking motions anyways. The dripping of water becomes steadier, but Clint keeps it under control.

"Are you convinced now?" Asks Peter2, impatient. He's already holding one of the cameras.

Nancy turns to him and nods. "Follow me, the crypt is this way"

And they follow, though Clint floats behind them at a much more sedate pace, so much that Tony's almost sure he's only coming along because Tony's dragging him by the arrow.

The crypt is old and made of marble, fancy in that old way that means elaborate carvings and greek like columns and big wrought iron gates. Tony feels a little proud for the famished girl that started her life escaping the circus without a cent in her pockets and made sure to procure herself a beautiful place to end it.

"Hello spooks!" Peter2 begins his act right outside, with Wanda standing by the door immobile like a marble statue. "Welcome to our new chapter, today we're going to finally solve the mystery of The Marvelous Hawkeye, Clint Barton!"

"During last episode we discovered Clint died while attempting to smuggle a girl out of the circus they both worked at" Peter1 adds, turning the camera to him. "You helped us find that girl, spooks, this is all you! We're here now, Wanda sealed Clint's spirit in this arrow" he makes a pause, and Tony lifts the thing into the camera's view "and we're walking into the crypt." Peter1 finishes excitedly.

"Hold on to your seats spooks, this will get wild" Peter2 promises.

\--

"My mom is going to kill me" Nancy says, looking down at the broken stone. Tony feels sorry for her, no one really expected the stone slab covering Kate and Elijah's coffins would just... Snap in half as soon as they walked in. Through the crack they could see old gnarled wood and Tony really hoped they wouldn't have to move the stone.

"She wants us to open her coffin" Wanda speaks then with her movie medium voice. Tony wants to die, but he only grunts and joins Allan and the Peters into pushing the heavy ass stone down.

The coffins are almost identical, and look equally aged.

"Did they die soon after each other?" He asks Nancy.

The girl shrugs. "According to my grandma, Elijah died first of a heart attack, and Kate stayed around just long enough to put her affairs in order. Said she even left a note that she wanted to be buried with certain things."

"She's in the one by the left" Wanda says, walking towards it. Peter2 wastes no time to lift the lid -the nails must have rusted away- and they are _so_ going to jail for this.

When Wanda gasps softly, Tony moves forward to see what has surprised her.

Kate's body is not much to speak off. The only whole pieces are a jawbone and what looks like a pelvic bone poking tents in an old discolored skirt, but there are a few pointed bone shards and long skinny bones -like a chicken's- tangled around a dry piece of rope that looks like it will disintegrate if they look at it too hard.

"Is that her hand? What is she holding" Tony frowns. He hears Nancy gasp too, and feels the cold of Clint going through him to look. He's too relieved Clint dared coming out to tell him off.

"That's Lucky's collar" Clint's voice is shaky. Tony looks at Wanda in terror when the first droplet falls on top of the dusty old dress.

Wanda, bless her, reaches forward and touches the jawbone with a carefully varnished nail.

It's like an industrial reflector was turned on inside the crypt. Tony can't see for a second until his pupils shrink against the blinding light, but when he regains his vision he manages to distinguish the silhouette of a dog hopping and running around.

"Lucky?" Clint asks.

Tony doesn't want to look, doesn't want to see his friend, when his voice sounds this fragile, but he turns anyways. "Lucky, really?" He aims for a smirk, but can only manage a smile. Maybe he just really wants to smile, he decides. Clint looks like a miner that sees the sun after months of darkness. "How original"

"Shut it" Clint laughs. "He's the best dog, aren't you Lucks?" He floats forward and bends to take a hold of the dog's cheeks and give it a shake. "Took a chunk off of that imbecile Tibolt didn't you?"

Lucky barks. Clint laughs.

"Of course you did! You're the best dog" Clint repeats in a childish voice.

Then, the dog takes a step away from Clint and looks back, droopy ears and crooked tail stiff and high to attention.

"What's there Lucky?" Clint asks. By his tone, Tony thinks he knows exactly who is there.

At first it's the silhouette of a child, small and emaciated, but as they watch it stretches and inflates, until it gets to the size of an adult. Then it begins to clear out.

Kate Bradley (née Bishop) looks like an older woman, but when her eyes land on Clint, she seems to de-age forty years. Sai eyes shine with disbelief, adoration and tears and her smile may have some crooked teeth but it looks magazine worthy if just for the raw emotion in it.

"Took you long enough" She says finally. Her voice is gleeful and reminds Tony of a small bird, fluttering around and chirping excitedly.

"Sorry little hawk" after what feels like an eternity, Clint responds. "I got into a bit of a scuffle with the boss"

Kate laughs, it's the sort of sound that makes you want to laugh along. Tony thinks he's beginning to understand how this woman got by in such a hard time. She's the kind of person you want to make happy, because she's _good_ and that makes _you_ happy.

"Couldn't stop us from leaving, the big bozo" says Kate, still smiling. "Neither of us"

"His negotiation skills have some room for improvement" Clint smiles again, before his face sobers. "Little hawk, how did you escape?"

This sends Kate into another fit of laughter. Tony frowns confused.

"I didn't" she says finally.

"What?" Clint asks. In the background, so do Tony and the others, but it goes mostly unheard.

"I stayed there" Kate explains, her eyes are still smiling like she's telling the best joke ever. "They went out to look for me, around town, at the train station, everywhere.

>>I hid into Balthazar's wagon, you know he always kept it cluttered? They would've never found me. When I heard everyone leaving to look for me, I stayed, and when I couldn't hear them anymore I went out to look for you.

"I couldn't find you" Kate's eyes lose a bit of their gleam. "But I found Lucky. I couldn't bury him or they would've known I was there, so I took his collar and I left."

"But where? They were sweeping the town looking for you" Clint frowns.

"I didn't go into town." Kate replies. "I stole your bow and some arrows, and I walked away from the town, away from the train tracks, until I could barely see them, and then I followed them."

"But how..." Clint lets his voice die, not daring to ask the question.

"You saved me." Kate shrugs simply. Clint's cheeks flush and his mouth twitches, like it wants to smile but knows it shouldn't. "Hitting a rabbit isn't any harder than hitting a moving target while on a rope or a horse. The bigger animals led me to water, I shared a trough with some friendly cows more than a few times" Kate looks down then, but her head snaps back ok immediately after, the fire in her eyes burning again. "I really wanted to live, and I did"

Clint smiles again. It's the sort of smile Tony's seen him give Wanda. Now he understands who he was thinking of.

"You did wonderful. Look at you, look-look at Nancy!" Clint gestures to the girl, who's watching mutely by the side with eyes that look like they'll never close again. "She's your great granddaughter Katy, look at her"

For the first time, Kate seems to notice they're not alone. She turns to Nancy and gets a closer look at her face.

"You're Sarah's granddaughter?" She asks in a tone of voice Tony would've used when meeting... Well, no one, but that people use all the time when meeting him. "Little Jenna's girl?"

Nancy nods slowly. "Yes, I- Jenna's my mom"

"She was just a baby" Kate's eyes glisten. "And you're so beautiful, Nancy" the last word is said experimentally, as if Kate is trying to see how it feels in her mouth. It fits well, apparently, because her smile lights up again. "Do you still have the apple tree in the backyard? Eli planted that when we built the house."

The girl smiles, and she's got the same light to her as Kate does, at least for a moment. "My dad wanted to cut it down because my brother fell from it once" she explains, grinning madly "Nana and I sat at its base for a whole day making a hunger strike. It's super tall now"

Tony looks over at Clint. Lucky lays curled into a ball at his feet and he's looking over Kate and Nancy with a soft smile on his face, like he'd found his favorite show on the TV and it's a chapter he's seen a thousand times but he's not touching the remote with a ten feet pole.

With a start, Tony realizes he's seen the look before, and he pictures Thor clearly. He can practically hear Clint saying goodbye already, but, he decides after another look at his friend's serene smile, maybe it's not so bad.

"-he'll be so happy to know I saw you" Kate is saying. "He's going to be so jealous he didn't get to come pick Clint up with me"

"Wait what?" Clint recoils at that. "Pick me up?"

Kate frowns, turning back to him. "Well yes. We're moving on aren't we? I've been waiting for you back there."

Clint swallows, then looks at Tony.

Tony's probably reading way too much into the look, but he focuses on the main thing and smiles up at him.

"It's alright Clint" He says, and knows it's true even as he says it. "That's what we've been doing all this for, isn't it?"

"You won't..." Clint begins, but stops when Tony shakes his head.

"I'm gonna miss you, wailing man" Tony says. It manages to rip a chuckle out of Clint, and that's more than enough. "But I won't leave the others. You have my word"

It takes a moment, but finally Clint floats down to him and extends a hand. Tony shakes it, for once not caring about the cold.

"It was worth staying here, if only to meet you. Tell the others I said good luck" Clint says solemnly. Then, he turns to Kate. "Well... Let's meet this Eli fella of yours Little Hawk"

"You're going to love him" Kate says enthusiastically. "It was a pleasure to meet you Nancy, I'm proud to be your great grandma!" And she takes a few floaty steps into her coffin. Her lower half disappears like she's going downstairs into some kind of basement.

Clint goes to follow, but he stops a few inches short of the old coffin, and turns to look at Wanda, who immediately looks at Tony with her too big eyes.

"Join the burials, Mr. X" says Wanda like Tony knows what the _fuck_ she's talking about. "The arrow"

Oh.

So Tony walks forward and lays the arrow carefully in the coffin, intertwined with Kate and Lucky's remains.

Clint regales him with a last look and a smile, as he and Lucky bounce over to Kate. When Clint floats past the edge of the coffin, the blinding light shoots up again and when it's gone, so is Clint.

\--

The trip back is like a dream.

Clint isn't there to be impressed at the plane, so Tony makes sure to be impressed on his behalf. There really are a lot of amazing things he never noticed at an airport,and he feels a little silly for having grown used to it.

The drive home, the text to check the kids made it home safe, to T'challa and Pepper to let them know _he_ made it home safe, it all gets done on autopilot.

"Is he-?" Steve asks as soon as he crosses the door. Natasha and Bruce are behind him, and Tony can feel their stares on him.

"He said to tell you 'good luck' " Tony repeats Clint's last words. They feel like a blessing, but also like a prophecy that looms over him. "I'm a bit tired from the plane, mind if we talk tomorrow?" He asks, but he's moving towards the stairs before the ghosts can even respond.

That night he lays on his bed awake, with a head full of thoughts.

Kate's shiny eyes, her grateful smile, Clint's silent delight, it all comes back in flashes, and he doesn't know how to feel.

_"I did a good thing today"_ he texts. No matter what he feels, that much is true.

It takes a few minutes -it's long past midnight after all- but Loki still responds.

_"You do a lot of good things you idiot. You need to start owning up to it"_

Tony lays back on his bed, smiling.

His last thought before falling asleep is that he should plant an apple tree in his backyard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is!  
> I hope you guys appreciate this because I had to do some weird ass research for this, from therapy dogs to the state of interratial marriage in the US circa 1860, and every time I thought I´d closed the chapter something else popped up and needed to be elaborated on.  
> Please leave comments if you like this, I swear it´s what kept me focused on writing.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It´s finally here! **This chapter has clickable content** don´t be afraid!
> 
> Also, this chapter contains attempted murder and referenced suicide. It´s nothing graphic at all, but I thought it better to warn you all.

**3**

It´s better the second time around, or rather, less bad.

Sure, not having Clint around is a bit of a downer, but then Tony remembers his disbelieving smile when he saw Kate and Lucky, and the genuine peace in his face when he said his goodbye, or Thor´s warm eyes as he watched his brother for the last time, and it suddenly doesn´t feel as if he´s been robbed of his friends, but rather as if he gave them a ride to the airport after hearing them talk of how much they missed home for months.

More importantly, Tony has been giving some thought to his role in all of this. And by that he means he's been doing his best to not think in the slightest about it.

He can't help it sometimes though. When he goes around the house and catches his ghosts looking at the spots where Thor and Clint used to spend their time. Their eyes are sad but wistful, and sometimes he catches them looking at him expectantly. 

What the hell is he supposed to do though? He never signed up to be a medium or ferry souls towards the afterlife, how can they expect him to solve their lives when even they couldn´t?

“It´s a noble thing” says T´challa over breakfast one day. It´s been a while since he´s been allowed to talk freely about his ghosts in the library ever since Sam and T´challa started dating, so Tony makes the most of it, and breakfast turns into french fries and onion rings and cheese fingers, just to give him an excuse to keep talking. “You´re helping them, baby cakes. Both Thor and Clint, they were miserable”

“Miserable´s a strong word, kitty”

“Thor knew his brother had shunned his family and was running towards an early grave out of misplaced guilt, and Clint had no idea whether or not he had sacrificed his life in vain for the person he loved the most” T´challa rolls his eyes. “Sounds pretty miserable to me”

“... Well it does when you put it like _that_ ” says Tony as he stirs some spiced dressing with a fry. “I don´t know though, asides from that their not-life was pretty sweet”

“But it wasn´t their place” T´challa says. He pulls the dressing cup out of Tony´s reach, earning a reproachful glance. “They´re not supposed to be here. They´re trapped, and you´re helping them move on. It´s what´s best for them”

“I guess. I just… It feels like-” Tony frowns, looking for the words. “They´re just _leaving_ , kitty” he tries “like, is this all I´m supposed to do? Is this the only reason I met them?”

T´challa´s confused look turns sympathetic. Wonderful, now he´s feeling pity for him.

“Hey. I´m glad you met them, even if it´s just to help them pass” T´challa says after a long silence. “I somehow doubt you´d have ended up at my bookstore if your house had been boringly normal”

Tony says nothing to that. His throat feels a little tight, he´s probably catching a cold, he thinks. Instead, he chews on his soggy fry, growing increasingly uncomfortable under T´challa´s gaze.

“I´ve been thinking” T´challa continues talking as if Tony hasn´t just made this meal the awkwardest thing in the history of meals “Sam wants to meet you and the kids, and well… Maybe he´s ready?”

“That´s good” Tony latches on to this thread of conversation like a drowning man clings to flotsam in a storm. “What have you got in mind?”

T´challa shrugs “A game night? At your house maybe?”

“... Do you want to give Sam a heart attack or something?” Tony deadpans, and T´challa laughs, sounding entirely too cheery for someone who´s planning on taking his PTSD ridden boyfriend into a house full of dead people.

“It´s not like he doesn´t know about it” He says after he´s done laughing “I´ve told him, and when he stopped freaking out I showed him the videos. He thinks you should invite Loki over for a few days, by the way”

“You told him about my ghosts?! Kitty, that was between you and me and the kids´ nine thousand followers on YouTube!” Tony lays a hand flat over his chest, trying to give off his best betrayed look, when the last part of T´challa´s sentence registers in his brain “Could everyone just _stop_ trying to hook me up with Loki?” he groans, rolling his eyes.

“We just want you to be happy, baby cakes”

Tony rolls his eyes “Have you guys met Loki? He´s like-”

“Like _exactly_ your match, Tony, stop acting dumb” T´challa interrupts him with an eyeroll of his own. The nerve.

“I´m physically incapable of acting dumb, shut up” Tony flicks a fry at him, and pulls out his phone “How about next Friday?”

“Wow, very subtle topic switch” T´challa laughs

“I can do Saturday too” Tony smirks up at him

\--

They do Saturday, in the end. They considered Sunday, but Peter1 had a big presentation on Monday, so it was settled.

“Ok guys, I´m sure I don´t need to go over this again, but-” Tony begins, and continues talking over the loud groaning of the remaining ghosts “No creepy shit, and no apparitions until T´challa gives me the green light. Nat, it might be better if you don´t manifest fully, ok?”

“He has nothing to fear from me” Natasha says with an eyeroll, but her gored form dissipates into her former preferred appearance of red and black mist. “Shouldn´t they be here already?”

“They went to pick up the kids” Tony shrugs. They´re running a bit late, but it´s nothing to worry about. “If you guys don´t want to show yourselves that´s ok too, you know? I mean, I don´t want to push it on any of you” he says, making his best not to look at Bruce. Steve will probably be best friends with Sam twenty minutes into his visit, and Natasha couldn´t give less of a shit over whether or not people are comfortable in her presence, but Bruce is another story. Ever since Tony let them know of the game night plans, he´s been flickering on and off even more than usual.

“We´re ok Tony” smiles Steve “As long as this Sam guy is alright with meeting us, I´d love to get to know him, and I bet Natasha and Bruce think the same”

The Natasha-mist remains suspiciously silent, and Bruce chooses that moment to begin flashing in and out of the visual spectrum, but none of them deny it so Tony guesses it´s alright.

He doesn´t get a chance to question them further or say much more, because there´s a knock at the door and when he goes to open it he has to hop aside to dodge Peter2 in his mad dash to get the drinks to the fridge. 

“Well, this explains what took you so long” Tony smiles, taking the pizza boxes off of Wanda´s hands. “Go make sure your brother doesn´t destroy my kitchen”

She waves him away “That´s Peter´s job. I´m setting up the game central” she says, heading towards the dining room. True to her word, Peter1 heads for the kitchen with a long suffering sigh.

“Hey there Baby Cakes” T´challa pulls Tony into a hug, then steps aside “You´ve already seen Sam, but well, Sam, this is Tony”

The guy looks a bit nervous, with his hand buried in Redwing´s soft fur, and Tony can´t help the smile that spreads over his face “Nice to meet you.” he says, offering a hand to shake “If you want to meet the guys, or if anything gets to be too much when they get here, let me know ok?”

Sam smiles “Thanks Tony. T´challa told me you´re responsible for him not treating me like I´m made of glass?” He asks, giving T´challa´s hand an affectionate squeeze.

“I might have shared a story or two with him” Tony chuckles “You should´ve seen him when you first asked him out, it took him over three hours to settle on a pair of pants”

“The black ones. _Thank you_ ” Sam gives him an overly solemn nod that has Tony laughing again

“Well this is charming and all, but I´d appreciate it if we stopped talking about me and my pants, and I don´t know, go in maybe?” T´challa chooses that moment to interrupt and pull Sam´s hand to bring him past Tony and into the house. Redwing remains sat at the threshold, looking expectantly at Tony, and he takes the opportunity to snap a quick picture of her before cooing at her to bring her in.

He texts the pic to Loki with the caption _”Got a pretty girl home tonight”_

The response comes quickly _”She´s beautiful and you don´t deserve her. Give her a pet for me”_

By the time he gets to the dining room, the table´s set with open pizza boxes, an ice filled cooler (did he even have a cooler in the house?) holding both beer and soda cans. 

The Clue box is open and the board already set up. Tony rolls his eyes, but goes to sit on Wanda´s left.

“ _Really_ Wanda? A game about murder in the haunted house?” He asks, messing the girl´s hair affectionately.

“Gotta set the mood” Wanda laughs. “By the way, Nancy called me”

“Yeah? How´s she doing?”

She shrugs “Pretty well actually. She says the stone slab in the crypt had repaired by itself the next morning, and that their apple tree just gave like… the biggest harvest ever. It´s not even apple season yet”

Tony laughs “That´s good, I guess. Kate and Eli must be pretty happy”

“You can talk about your ghosts later” T´challa declares suddenly. When Tony and Wanda turn to look at him, he´s placing a closed envelope on the board, his factions solemn. “Right now, we have to find out who killed Mr. Boddy”

After somewhere between ten and sixty minutes (closer to sixty) it´s finally determined by Peter1 that, despite the many, _many_ accusations made by literally everyone (Tony is, to say the least, a little offended), it was not Tony´s Ms. Scarlett who offed their gracious host, but rather Peter2´s Mrs. White, with the chandelier, at the ballroom. Rather than spending twenty five to life in prison for premeditated murder, Peter2 chooses to commit himself to community service and bring the plates over from the kitchen.

“That lasted much less than it did when I was nine” Sam comments, as he lifts a slice of pizza onto his provided plate. “I don´t know what that says about nine years old me´s intelligence” 

“If you want long games, I´ve got a Monopoly stuffed somewhere around here” Tony mumbles around his own mouthful of the cheesy, saucy miracle that is pizza. “Nat got a bit annoyed the last time we played and set it on fire, but later she told us it was just for show and she´d just hidden it”

“Like half of what Natasha does is for show, man” Peter2 rolls his eyes. Tony sees one of the encyclopedia tomes on the bookshelf behind him begin to swivel, and he´s sure the only thing saving Peter2 from a bruised skull is the fact that Natasha promised not to do anything until Sam asked to meet them. 

“She does put on good shows though, you gotta give her that” Sam intervenes. Tony watches him carefully. “Those wounds in your first video? She looked like an extra from The Walking Dead. I´d be proud too if I could make a grown man pass out and a slightly less grown one run to find a place to puke” he smirks

Peter2 blushes and flicks a balled napkin at him. “I was _not_ puking”

“You didn´t eat any meat for three days after that” Wanda comments casually, and Peter2 begins balling another napkin, ears burning red.

Tony sits back and enjoys the domesticity of the scene. Peter2 and Wanda are throwing childish insults and paper balls back and forth, while T´challa and Sam make lamb eyes at each other. Peter1 leans from his chair at Tony´s left.

“Hey Mr. Stark… Could we talk later? In private? I have something to ask you” he whispers, low enough to be missed by the others.

“Uh, sure?” Tony frowns. “Is everything ok?”

“Yup! It´s just uh, a general favor? I think? Unless it´s too much then you can ignore it, of course, but I thought maybe asking wouldn´t hurt” Peter1 mumbles with a speed of speech borrowed from Peter2. “But it can wait, it´s nothing urgent and I´m having fun so, uh… Who wants another round of Clue?!” He asks, a bit desperately. His face is flushed, and Tony has a small heart attack because what if the kid has developed some sort of stupid crush on him?!

“I´m in but…” Sam sets his cup down, and he slips a hand under the table, where Tony supposes he´s clinging to T´challa. “I think it´s a bit rude if we don´t include the others”

Silence falls, dense and heavy, over the table.

“Are you sure?” asks T´challa. “It´s not mandatory to meet them tonight. Or at all, I mean, I hardly think they´ll take offense.”

“I´m sure” Sam nods a single time, and Tony has to restrain a cackle because the poor man looks like he´s about to be executed.

“Well, if you say so” Tony smiles instead. “Come on in guys, Sam wants to meet you”

As is rapidly becoming the norm with his ghosts, they miss their cue for a dramatic entrance. Are they taking a nap and didn´t hear him? Do ghosts take naps? Huh…

“Guy-” Tony tries, only to be interrupting by a series of events. The heavy encyclopedia tome topples from the bookshelf, and lands with a loud noise behind Peter2. The teenager turns back to look, rolls his eyes, and looks back to his second slice of pizza, only to find out it´s been turned into a plate of writhing slugs. He is, understandably, upset.

“What the hell was that for?!” is the first coherent sentence Peter2 can string together after almost two full minutes of blasphemy.

“Show, mostly” Natasha´s smug voice comes from the empty chair besides Sam.

Tony turns to face her at neck-breaking speed, but thankfully her grudge seems to be specifically aimed at Peter2, because she´s only materialized as her usual red and black mist.

“Nice to meet you, Sam” She says, ignoring Peter´s curses.

T´challa´s gone pale, Peter1´s bouncing his leg on the floor anxiously, and even Wanda seems a bit nervous, scratching softly but repeatedly at the table´s surface with a polished nail.

“Likewise, miss. I take it it´s better to be on your good side?” Sam asks with a smile, and the mood in the room lightens palpably.

“Learn from the child´s mistakes” the ghost says, and though she doesn´t have anything resembling to a face at the moment, Tony can picture her smirk perfectly. “And call me Natasha, please”

“Thank yo-”

“On your left” This time it´s Steve´s voice that´s the interruption, as he manifests on Sam´s aforementioned left. “Good evening, Sergeant” he says, extending a hand to shake.

“... Ok, now that´s creepy” Sam turns with a slight wince, and goes for the shake. “Takes one to know one, where did you serve?”

“Austria, 1943” Steve smiles proudly, and both Sam´s grin and hand falter a little as his mind connects the dots. “I didn´t die there, though, if that´s what you´re wondering” Steve hurries to add, when Sam´s pause has gone on for a bit too long. Tony sighs; Steve´s not usually this big of a trainwreck, but of course he had to go and try to impress the new guy. Even Natasha´s mist is swirling around faster than usual, as if agitated. T´challa looks at him beggingly, one hand still holding Sam´s, and the kids are just… Watching.

“Bruce, are you coming?” Asks Tony in an attempt to diffuse the weird mood that has settled.

“I´m waiting for the mood to lighten a bit” Bruce says, flickering into view next to him, and Tony can´t help the snort of laughter. 

“Uh, hey there?” Sam waves tentatively.

“Brucie´s not as outgoing as the others” Tony explains “Also, he probably didn´t have time to think up of an entrance, with those two stealing the show”

“I´d give Nat´s a solid ten” Wanda holds up a napkin with the number hastily written on it. “Steve had a good idea, but flopped on the execution, so he gets a four” she flips the napkin to show the second number

“Are you crazy? Guessing Sam´s rank out of the blue was impressive” Peter1 jumps to the ghost´s defense “And casually bringing up you were at World War II? That´s an eight at least, Wanda”

“Can we _stop_ encouraging them to be creepy around us?” Peter2 groans, pushing his perfectly normal pizza slice away and prompting laughter all around the table.

\--

"So what's up?" Tony asks a while later. The twins and the lovebirds are gone already, but Peter1 stayed behind. He's helping him pick up the pizza boxes and wash the dishes so Tony has no qualms against giving him a ride home later.

"Yeah, uh..." Peter1 mumbles something to himself. "I was wondering if- I'm happy and all, working at the newspaper, but I think I'd like to find an internship somewhere I do a bit more than run back and forth with coffee and copies?" he says finally "It's been almost a year since one of my photos made it to the finished paper, and I think it's mostly because the editor hates me" 

Tony looks at the teen. He looks defeated and a bit embarrassed, and with good reason. Tony has seen the camerawork and editing he does for the vlog, and he's been allowed to see some of his photographs; the kid does a good job. He shrugs, attempting to look nonchalant.

"Bad bosses are a pain, but you can't do much. My advice is don't have a boss" Tony grins.

Peter1 smiles weakly. "Maybe get a cool boss? One that goes ghosthunting with you?"

... Oh.

And honestly, he shouldn't be surprised that the kid knows about the company, all it takes is Tony's name and a small dose of that hellish Peter1's stubbornness.

Tony waits for as long as humanly possible before responding. Ideally, his preferred time for giving bad news is never, but he knows Peter1's like a dog with a bone once he gets an idea.

"You want to intern at Stark Industries?" He asks finally.

"Only if it's possible! Like, I don't want to be a bother, but I'm actually a pretty good worker, I'm sure I could be an asset-"

"I'm sure you could but... Well, this is awkward to say" Tony leans back on the kitchen counter, pointedly looking at everything but Peter1.

"Uh... What is?"

"I'm not with the company anymore" It hurts to say it, but much less than before, so maybe time does heal all sounds, even the self inflicted ones.

"... wait what?" Peter1 blinks owlishly, caught off guard. Tony thinks he might have been prepared to debate a refusal based on any other grounds, but well, there's no way he could've expected this one.

"I still own the company legally speaking" Tony begins. He wants to sigh and take a seat, but the memory of a lost battle won't be enough to break him. He won't let it. "But I didn't really like the direction it had been taking. Weapons are lucrative, but..." but continuing to direct a company that insisted on keeping up with the production of the same gun that was used to murder his parents was just _too much_. Tony shakes his head a little, to get rid of those thoughts, and clears his throat. "I wanted to go back to the company's roots, at its core Stark Industries has always been innovation, and by focusing on a single product it has lost some of its essence. But the board didn't agree. I was outvoted."

"You're the _owner_ " Peter1 frowns. "What's the point in owning a business if it doesn't do what you want?" 

Tony laughs. "It's not that easy, kid." he says, and a resigned sigh does escape him then. "To begin with, it's not my company. My father and Obadiah made it together. Obbie still holds a lot of weight in the decisions we make and well, I respect him."

"Is that why you're all the way out here when the Stark Industries HQ is back at the West Coast?" Asks Peter1. Clever little bugger.

"I have funds of my own" Tony shrugs. "I'm developing my own products, software, gadgets, a bit of everything. I couldn't invest my time in my own projects if I was still in charge of the company, so I signed a permit to allow Obbie to make decisions on my behalf and came over here." He climbs to his feet and pats the teen's head. "Trust me Peter, I would if I could. You have what it takes, I can see it, and it kills me to say no. What I can do is give you a recommendation letter. Signed by both me and Obbie it should be enough to get you wherever you want"

Peter1 doesn't say a thing for a moment that stretches on for a little too long. Tony's just about to crack a joke to lighten the mood, when he speaks in a low voice.

"That would be awesome, Mr. Stark. Thanks." Peter1 says. Tony thinks he hears a little crack there, but he doesn't get the chance to ask before the kid continues "I should be going home anyways, so... I'll see you later"

"Let me get my keys, I'll give you a ride" Tony says, but Peter1's shaking his head even before he can turn to look for them. 

"Nah, it's a short walk. I'll just go now, bye Mr. Stark" he says hurriedly, taking step after step towards the door, and now it _really_ is killing Tony, the fact that he had to say no.

"Text me when you get there" Is all Tony manages to say before the door closes behind Peter1. He falls back on his chair and runs a hand through his hair.

"I think you did ok" Says Steve, fading into view next to him. "There's nothing you can do"

Tony nods half heartedly. Isn't there, really?

He goes to sleep early that night, tired beyond what is reasonable for a simple games night.

\--

 _”Tony?”_ The voice in the telephone is well loved and much welcomed the next day, as Tony tries and fails to spot a bug in a particularly tricky string of code and his brain is _not_ helping by casually reminding him that he can´t bring Peter1 as his intern until he has a proper company and that means actual products and that means finishing the stupid code in this piece of shit software.

“Hey Rhodey. Long time” He greets. “What are you up to?”

_”I´d really love to catch up man, but there are some more… Important matters at hand”_

“Huh?”

_“Have you seen the news?”_

Tony turns the TV on, with a slight feeling of dread in his stomach, and changes the channel, looking for somewhere there are news running.

"Try 390" Says Bruce. Tony flinches a little at the ghost's sudden apparition, but follows the directions and sure enough, a newscast is coming back from the commercial break in that channel. 

"Neat party trick" he comments, and Bruce chuckles a little. 

Just like that, Obbie's face is on the screen.

"What can you tell us about this new Stark Industries product?" asks a reporter, holding a mic up to the man's face.

Obadiah smiles with that paternal gesture he used to reserve for Tony. For some reason, he doesn't find it nearly as calming now. 

"Of course, all of this will be explained in detail at the next StarkCon in April, but I can disclose a few things, just, let's keep them between us, ok?" He winks. The reporters laugh.

He's got them eating off the palm of his hand, as always. Tony's always admired that skill of his, but as Obbie used to say: Tony was better off hidden in a lab developing his technology, where he was more comfortable. The hermit life really did suit him.

"... a concentrated form of adrenaline, you could say" Obadiah's words bring him back to the present momentarily. "It enhances the body's a abilities, to allow for emergency rescues or retreats. For a few minutes a soldier in a pinch can develop better reflexes, greater strength, impressive endurance. A few precious minutes that can and _will_ save thousands of lives on the battlefield."

"Has this serum been tested?" asks a sharp eyed woman at the second row of reporters.

"Extensively, of course" Obadiah nods "As I said, the-"

Tony turns the TV off. 

At least it's not a new weapon, he thinks. Still, the board of directors will find a way to fuck it up, they're good at that.

 _"Did you see it?"_ Comes a new message from Rhodey.

 _"Yeah. It's cool, I guess. I'll send Obbie a fruit basket"_ he texts back.

It's probably not the response Rhodey was expecting, because his phone blows up with more texts messages than it should be possible to send in a minute as soon as Tony sets it back on the countertop.

He ignores it, as he throws himself back into coding with renewed strength. He's got to make it. He's got everything he needs, his father had even less, and he built Stark Industries from the ground. Surely he can create something large enough to give a teen an internship.

He doesn't notice Bruce hasn't said a thing since he turned the TV on, or that he remained on the couch in front of the damned thing, flickering on and off with a stony expression.

\--

By next morning there are six missed calls from Pepper and at least forty text messages from her and Rhodey. Tony ignores them in favor of sending back a few smirky emojis in response to Loki's selfie. What do they even want? What the company develops is not his business anymore.

However, he can only ignore Pepper's calls for so long, and he responds on his way back from grocery shopping.

"Hey Peps" He greets simply.

_"I need you back at California right now"_

"Yep, I'm doing great, thanks for asking. How about you?" He rolls his eyes. He can hear Pepper's exasperated huffing, but hey, that's what she gets for trying to involve him again.

 _"This is not the time Tony. I need you back for real, it's about Obadiah"_ she insists, voice tense and clipped. Tony stops the car as his heartbeat speeds.

"Is he ok?" he asks. He'd seemed fine at the press conference, but Obbie was not a young man anymore. Maybe the stress of launching the new product... "Pepper, is he ok?"

_"He's healthy alright but Tony, this is serious. I booked you a flight for tonight, please take it. Please, for me? You owe me one"_

"That's playing dirty Peps" Tony sighs "I'll go, I guess. If you say it's important then I trust you"

 

Pepper sighs as well, but hers is laced with relief. _"Happy will pick you up. Have a safe trip_ she hangs up abruptly. Huh. Maybe this is actually serious.

\--

"It's just for a few days" Says Tony "Less if I get my way. You'll be ok, won't you? No ground shattering epiphanies or trips to the afterlife?"

"I can't promise, but we'll try our best" Steve grins. "Say hi to Pepper for us"

"Be careful" Says Natasha. Her voice is low and wary, and her eyes are stone cold. "There's something about this I don't like"

"Me neither, but I think it's just going back home" Tony tries to joke. The word home feels awkward in his mouth as soon as he says it. This is his home, isn't it? With his ghosts and T'challa and the kids and Sam... "As I said, it'll be as short as I can make it. I asked T'challa and the kids to keep you company, don't forget to get the mail in, and don't cause any weird electrical outbursts ok?"

"Gotcha"

"We'll keep the house safe" Natasha says solemnly

Tony narrows his eyes, scrutinizing Natasha's serious face. "... Please don't give any robbers a heart attack, just..." He tries. Natasha's expression doesn't soften "Ok, if you do kill someone, get in touch with T'challa before someone calls the police, ok?"

"I can compromise to that"

"I'll try to keep her under control" Steve promises with a voice that suggests he knows perfectly well it's an empty promise.

"And say bye to Bruce for me will you? I couldn't find him"

\--

 _"What's up?"_ He texts, bored.

_"Not much. Took Balder to see a movie. Either reconciling with your little brother is expensive or he's taking advantage of me."_

Tony smiles. _"Sweetcheeks, you and I both know there is no one alive that can do that. You just like spoiling him"_

_"You can't prove that. Anyways, what's up with you?"_

_"Waiting. Airports are very weird places to be_ And very noisy. How many decibels is that child screeching at? That has to be breaking a record or something.

_"Where are you going?"_

_Back to California for a bit. Pepper wants to see me for something"_

His plane is being boarded now, so he grabs his backpack -he hadn't even brought an actual suitcase, he didn't want to give Pepper the impression that he was staying for long- and moved to get in line.

When he's finally at his designated seat, he pulls the phone out again to see a new response.

_"... Well this is awkward."_

He frowns. _"What?"_

The next message takes a bit longer to come, and Loki's status goes from "is typing" to "online" three or four times before it arrives.

_"I bought a bus ticket for New York. I was planning on spending a few days there. Should've told you."_

... Oh

Well shit.

Tony puts the phone down and grips the armrests for a moment, as he goes from one emotion to the other in record time. Why was Loki planning to surprise him with a visit? He has a brief thought that at least there was a silver lining to this trip, if it allowed him to escape this weird... Thing. Then a voice that sounds like a combination of every single one of his friends is accusing him of being a coward and hey, that's pretty shitty, his mind should be on his side at least. 

And it isn't like seeing Loki would've been the most terrible thing, just... They are fine as it is, with flirty text messages and random selfies and hours and hundreds of miles away from each other, aren't they? Why change what´s working alright? 

His phone vibrates again.

_"I'll cancel the ticket have a nice flight"_

Shit. Shitshitshit.

 _"No, it's ok"_ he manages to type _"I'll be there in two days at the most, I'm sure. I´ll ask T´challa to give you the alarm code"_

 _"You don't sound very ok with this"_ how Loki manages to make the lack of formal punctuation feel disappointed and angry is beyond Tony's comprehension.

_"Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm way more scared of this than that time dead people started showing up at my house"_

_"I get it"_ and he probably does, too. How is he still willing to risk it, after a decade of one night stands and running away?

 _"I'll be there. Promise."_ Tony presses send and turns the phone to flight mode. 

He can't remember the last time he felt antsy during take off, but he somehow doubts it's related to the plane this time.

\--

Happy's there to pick him up, of course. Tony couldn't be happier to see him, he decides. It's a good way to start what he's sure is going to be a shit storm.

"So how's everything been?" he asks once they've left the airport. Happy sighs.

"Not too well, but we´d been expecting that when you left” Happy says. Tony tries to pretend his casual comment doesn't hit him like a punch to the chest. “But Pepper´s been worried lately, more than usual. I guess that´s why she made you come”

Despite the guilt churning in his stomach, Tony smiles. “So it´s not Miss. Potts anymore?”

Happy smiles back, eyes fixed on the road. “Things change” Is the only thing he says. Tony had forgotten things usually change for the better, but this is a nice reminder.

“So you have no idea what she wants?”

“Nope. Maybe she just wants you to take back your place at the boar-”

“She´s a smart cookie and that´s a lost cause” Tony interrupts immediately. He also ignores Happy´s eye rolling.

“Then I have no idea. Maybe she´s just accumulated all of the year´s paperwork and is planning on making you sign it all at once” Happy shrugs. “I´d pay to see that”

“I´d pay you to save me from that”

They get to the headquarters half an hour later. Tony would complain at not being given a second to rest after the flight, but to be honest he´d rather be done with this as soon as possible.

Happy takes him to what used to be his office and is now Pepper´s.

“Brought him!” He announces loudly, before opening the door to let Tony in.

Pepper looks up as the door closes, and her expression is of such relief that Tony begins to think maybe this _is_ serious after all.

“Hey Peps… What´s wrong?” he asks, going over to her for hug. She wraps his arms around him and squeezes. Tony´s beginning to actually get worried.

“You saw the new product?” Pepper asks after she motions for Tony to take a seat. He thinks of how odd it feels to sit as a visitor in what used to be his office, but waves it aside. “The serum”

“Yeah… Sounded a bit like bio warfare to me, if he wasn´t aiming it for our troops” Tony shrugs. None of his business anyways, he reminded himself.

Pepper lets out a long exhale. “I was going over the research papers and I… Well I think you should see this” She says, before she hands him a heavy folder with the usual classified stamps. Inside there´s a CD and a truckload of papers, but Tony focuses on [the first of the bunch.](http://i.imgur.com/CSTNsQd.jpg)

The paper is a bit creased here and there, but overall in good condition, if one is willing to ignore the coffee stain and the fact that this sorry excuse of a scientist used a blue pen in an official paper. Tony´s eyes ran over the data, taking in the name of the project, and his heart does a small jump when he reads the project manager´s name. 

He forces himself to stay calm, of course, because there must be a million Bruces out there and his Bruce certainly never mentioned having worked for him, much less as recently as six years ago.

What doesn´t surprise him is the fact that Obadiah´s the Program Manager. It only makes sense that he´s the one to launch the product, if he´d been the one to oversee its development.

“Uh… cool? Tests went well, as far as I can see” Tony says, dropping the report back on the folder. It´s then that he notices Pepper´s taken the CD from its case and is clicking away at her computer.

“Yes, in animals” she says. “This is what happened when it was tried in humans” Pepper then turns the computer screen to him, and presses play.  
The video starts normally enough, it´s obviously recovered footage from a surveillance camera, but the image´s clear. In it, Tony can see a man, and even just the back of his head sends a painful pang of recognition through his chest.

His hands grip the edge of the desk harder, and he watches Bruce tie a rubber band around his forearm and inject himself with _something_. He wants to scream because why would Bruce be as stupid as to try an experimental drug on himself?!

Nothing happens at first, Bruce holds a stopwatch in his left hand and makes annotations with his right, and for a second Tony thinks he will be ok, which is pretty stupid because the man in question is currently inhabiting his house as a ghost. Then Pepper lays her hand softly over his and he knows he won´t like what follows.

It looks painful.

Bruce bends over the work table, and his arms spasm pushing the equipment off the metal surface. Then he begins tearing at himself, at his clothes, until his shirt is torn off and Tony can see his muscles bulging and moving under his skin in a way that should not be possible, and then at the skin itself, like he wants to get it off, like it´s choking him, until small rivers of dark gray blood are running down his arms and neck and face even. 

He has more spasms, and when his fisted hand lands on the work table it leaves an indent so deep it looks like it was made with a sledgehammer. He stands from the stool he´d been sitting on and kicks it. Tony can see fragments of glass fly in all directions, before Bruce turns to the table again, grabs two of its metal legs and just _tears_ it apart like it´s made of paper.

The video goes on for a minute or so longer, and Bruce continues to destroy furniture and equipment with his bare hands until he seems to exhaust himself, and he passes out on the floor, shirtless and bleeding.

When Tony looks down, his knuckles are ghostly white under Pepper´s hand, and it takes him a moment to remember how to unclench his fingers, and another still to look up.

“Did it kill him?” Is all he asks. 

Pepper shakes her head, and her eyes are rimmed in tears. Tony doesn´t know if he wants to hear more, but he knows he _has_ to.

“It was three months later” she says in a voice light as her touch, as the way a lonely tear runs down her cheek. “They found- they found him in his car. There was a hose running from the exhaust pipe to the window.”

 _´Bullshit´_ He thinks, and it takes him until he sees Pepper nod to notice he said it aloud.

“He didn´t kill himself” He adds then, a dull, burning rage powering his words.

“You see why I needed you here?” Pepper asks. Her hand´s grip on his tightens, her nails dig into his skin. 

Tony nods. Someone murdered Bruce, and his mind is already reeling with suspicions. A rival company that caught wind of Stark Industries´ latest project? A jealous employee that wanted credit for the discovery? An ex lover?

“Well… Let´s get to work, then”

\--

 _“I´m starting to sense a pattern with your ghosts”_ T´challa says, his face in the screen contorted into a frown. _”Like was it so hard to have a peaceful death?” ___

__A voice comes from the background _”I somehow don´t think they´d be stuck down here if they´d died as they were supposed to”_ Says Sam and T´challa rolls his eyes._ _

___”Two days hanging out with Steve and he´s already an expert in everything ghosts, can you believe him?_ He says._ _

__Tony laughs “He´s got a point though. Also tell him thanks for me, I´m glad he´s keeping the ghosts company”_ _

___“Are you kidding me? He loves it. I think Natasha´s teaching him russian. The other day he called me kotyonok or something and now he won´t tell me what it means”_ T´challa sighs. _“Anyways, any breakthroughs?”__ _

__“None, I´m afraid” Tony rubs a hand over his forehead as all the exhaustion of the last two days falls on his shoulders. “There are no records of Bruce after that test video, unless you count his death certificate. Which is why I need the kids.”_ _

__T´challa frowns. _”You´re not going to fly them across the country are you? That´s a bit too much, and I think they´re on finals season, judging from the fact that they haven´t come over in at least a week”__ _

__“Yeah, no. I don´t have a house here any longer, and I don´t think we´d all fit in Pepper´s apartment” Tony lies through his teeth. The apartment is big enough, but Pepper´s definitely not going to allow three teenagers to run rampant in there, she barely even lets _him_ be near her expensive decorations. “I need Wanda to do what she did with Clint.”_ _

___”Is that why you shipped me an old lab coat?”_ _ _

__“Bingo! Smart Kitty” Tony claps a few times. “Should do the trick. You can just ship it right back once she´s done”  
Through the line, he hears Sam´s muffled voice, and sees T´challa turn to look at something offscreen. His eyebrows rise, and the corners of his mouth turn into a smile._ _

__“What´s up?” Asks Tony_ _

___”Nothing nothing! Anyways yes, I´ll get Wanda to do it”_ T´challa nods distractedly. _”Be a sweetheart and send me your location, will you? To know where to ship the thing”__ _

__“Uh, sure. Are you sure you´re ok?”_ _

___”Yup! Perfectly ok. Gotta go now, Sam wants to go walk Redwing, don´t forget the location!”_ is all T´challa says before ending the call._ _

__“So?” Pepper asks. “Will they send him over?”_ _

__“I… think? I feel like I´ve been had for some reason” Tony shrugs. He´s got the nagging feeling that he´s forgetting something important, but he can´t place his finger on it, and T´challa acting shady definitely isn´t making him feel any better._ _

__Pepper just shrugs back, and goes back to reading through files on the Performance Enhancing Serum._ _

__\--_ _

__Things are... muddy._ _

__Tony's actually concerned about the fact that it's so hard to find out information about one of the employees of his own company, but he can't even find a record of where Bruce used to live, if he had a family..._ _

__And all the while he's struggling to ignore the fact that he could have been here for him._ _

__He could have met Bruce, could've stopped him from trying that disgusting shit on himself, could've _saved_ him, because he's not buying the suicide theory, Bruce was on the verge of a breakthrough, there's no way he could've..._ _

__Tony stands up abruptly. The walk to Pepper's kitchen seems to take an eternity, it's like every step he takes is only an inch long, and it feels like it's an hour before he reaches the cupboard and pours himself a glass of water._ _

__He could've saved Bruce._ _

__The glass clinks loudly when it slips his hand and falls into the sink. Tony has a brief moment to be glad it didn't shatter before he notices the wetness on his face._ _

__How does he keep failing to his friends?_ _

__\--_ _

__"Tony?" Pepper calls from the door, and there's _something_ in her voice._ _

__"I'm coming" Tony says immediately. He climbs to his feet, a power bill with Bruce's name that they managed to find still clenched in his hand and goes to the door._ _

__Where he promptly freezes and feels his blood run cold, because Loki's standing there next to Pepper with a duffel bag in hand._ _

__"I didn't forget" is the only thing he can say. Loki smirks and he feels like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders._ _

__"Sure you didn't" Say Loki and Pepper at the same time. A chill runs down Tony's spine and because this is a life or death situation, he turns the charm up to the max and puts on his best smile._ _

__"Well, you certainly did surprise me, I'll give you that"_ _

__Loki rolls his eyes. "Your friend said you needed someone to bring you a lab coat or something. He also said he's expecting his money back for my plane ticket"_ _

__"Of course he is" Tony huffs. "Uh... So, do you want something to drink? I mean obviously this isn't my house but- can I offer him something to drink Pepper?"_ _

__She looks like she's having the time of her life, laughter in every crease in her face and Tony hates her a little. "Sure! Loki, I'm afraid I only have one guest room and Tony's using it, you wouldn't mind sharing it, would you?"_ _

__Scratch that, Tony hates her a lot._ _

__It's ridiculous, Loki and he have done much more than just sleep in a bed together before, why would it be a problem? The hint of pink on Loki's cheekbones is a bit reassuring, but Tony still wants to kill Pepper or die or both._ _

__"I'm good" Loki mumbles_ _

__"Perfect! Tony, show him to the room would you? I'll go put on some coffee for the three of us" and just like that she's gone through the kitchen door._ _

__None of them say a thing, and the silence grows steadily more loaded._ _

__Tony forces himself to take a step forward, and then another, until he's close enough to take Loki's bag from his hand._ _

__"You look well" Loki says._ _

__"You too" Tony responds._ _

__"It's not that hard you know?" Says a third voice. "It's good to see you, I'm glad you came, I've missed you"_ _

__Tony turns in time to give Bruce a glare that would've killed him if he hadn't already been a ghost._ _

__"What? I'm just saying the truth" he says, the bastard._ _

__Tony rolls his eyes "The truth like 'hey I worked for your company and we could've met when alive'? Or just uncomfortable truths that are not yours to tell?"_ _

__That makes Bruce flicker off, probably back into the lab coat, and Tony would feel guilty, if it weren't for the slender finger caressing the back of his hand._ _

__"I've missed you too." Loki mumbles, but when Tony looks up there's laughter in his eyes "Only a little though"_ _

__\--_ _

__Tony takes Loki's bag to the guest room, and by the time he gets back him and Pepper are sipping coffee while going over the files._ _

__"Anything new?" he asks._ _

__Pepper shakes her head "Nothing. And Bruce won't come out"_ _

__

__"Yeah... might be my fault" Tony sighs and takes a seat next to Pepper. "Nothing new"_ _

__"Maybe we should call Wanda..." Pepper frowns, and Tony shakes his head._ _

__"She's busy. We're three smart, capable adults. I'm sure we can find a way"_ _

__Turns out they can't, or at least not during the following four hours, and by then they're all grumpy and hungry and the food they ordered is twenty minutes late._ _

__"And FINALLY" Loki says dramatically to his camera after the bell rings and Pepper gets up to open it. "The food is here. Can I survive the delicate cuisine of the West Coast? We'll find out"_ _

__Tony rolls his eyes “Are you even facetiming anyone?” He asks. Loki shrugs._ _

__“I´m making a video journal”_ _

__

__“You´d get along with Peter, you know?” Says Tony, making space on the coffee table for the food ”He recorded the whole trip to Wisconsin”_ _

__“Must´ve worked wonders for your patience” Loki smirks. Tony´s about to reply, when Pepper walks in with the Thai food containers, and all banter is forgotten in the face of the survival of the fittest._ _

__\--_ _

__They´re three or four beers deep by the time Pepper begins to brag to Loki about Tony´s achievements, and he wants to die. Worst part is not only is Pepper driving the bargain for Tony as if he were a contest dog, but Loki´s nodding and smiling along like a complacent best friend listening to a new mom ramble about her baby._ _

__“And two PhDs, going on the third” Pepper stops to smile proudly at Tony, who can feel his face steadily heating up._ _

__“So you´re a doctor?” Loki says, and that´s _definitely_ a predatory gleam in his eyes. Tony doesn´t know whether to be mortified or aroused, honestly. “You don´t look the part”_ _

__“How could I even ´look the part´? I´m not a medical doctor, do you want me to go around with a stethoscope?” Tony rolls his eyes._ _

__Loki stares at him for a moment, as if seeing him through the haze of alcohol, and finally smiles._ _

__“Put on the lab coat” he says_ _

__“What?” Tony asks, but Loki´s already dashing towards the guest room and he´s back before Tony can stop him, with Bruce´s old lab coat in hand. “I´m not going to-”_ _

__“Oh god, wear it!” Pepper laughs with a most unladylike cackle. “Come on, I´ll send Rhodey a picture!”_ _

__And really, when has Tony ever passed up a chance to make Rhodey laugh?_ _

__Pepper lifts her phone, hands a little wobbly, as Loki offers the lab coat._ _

__“Wait, don´t… Oh, nevermind” Pepper giggles “It´s on recording mode, say hi Doctor!”_ _

__Tony rolls his eyes, but turns to flash a peace sign to the camera. “Doctor Tony hopes you´re eating your vegetables, young Rhodey” he says in his best impression of Obadiah, when Loki slips the coat over his shoulders._ _

___The line is breaking down. It´s **always** breaking down. How is it that Stark Industries, one of the biggest companies in the US, the company whose entire cornerstone is technological innovation has shitty phone connection is something Bruce will never understand. Still, he soldiers on._ _ _

___“We really cannot keep developing this serum” he insists “It´s dangerous for the consumer and everyone around them, and after it wears off the body decays at an alarming speed!” he would know, of course. It´s been only two days since he injected that shit and he´s feeling it hard. Palpitations, trouble with his breathing, his blood pressure ricocheting up and down and he´s willing to bet there´s some kidney damage, but it´s an educated guess at most._ _ _

___The voice at the other side of the line is kind but firm. It always is. For the first time Bruce doesn´t think of honey when he hears it, but of a sticky web with a fat spider waiting right at the middle._ _ _

___“No, the formula is right” Bruce rubs a hand over his forehead. He has to get this argument through, he has to stop this. If this goes out into the market… He doesn´t even want to imagine how many deaths he´ll be causing “The human body is simply not meant to produce the results the serum is forcing, it causes temporary lack of judgment and extreme aggressiveness. It can´t be approved, it´s dangerous!”_ _ _

___A definite comes back through the line. Bruce has always hated absolutes but this is such a big, important one that he feels his entire body growing cold._ _ _

___“Already in… but it hadn´t been tested in humans!” he argues, barely containing his voice below yelling levels. “You can´t do this, this is… Do you even realize how many people we´ll be killing?!”_ _ _

___The voice replies. It´s smug and arrogant, and it makes Bruce´s blood boil. Maybe it´s the serum left in his organism, maybe it´s just his backbone finally growing in, but he grips the phone harder._ _ _

___“I will not let you” Bruce says. His voice is deep and menacing and nothing he ever imagined himself to be able to produce “People deserve to know” He adds, before he ends the call._ _ _

___He gets up as quickly as he can, gathering all the important papers and even a sample of the stupid, godforsaken lethal drug he´d helped produce. They´ll be here soon to stop him, so Bruce locks his door and barricades it with as many pieces of his office furniture as he can, before going out through the back door and locking it._ _ _

___As he makes his way home, driving as erratically as he can, the man´s last words ring through his head._ _ _

___“Hopefully as many as we´re killing already, my dear Dr. Banner. We **are** a weapons company after all” Had said Obadiah Stane. And Bruce was going to make him regret it. _ _ _

__Everything hurts, and Tony feels like he can´t breathe, like someone forced a rag down his throat. Someone is shaking him by the shoulders, and Tony wishes he could speak just to tell them to _stop_._ _

__“Tony? Wake up!” It´s Pepper´s voice, cold and calm, the way it always is during crisis. Tony wonders who´s doing the shaking, if her voice sounds so far away._ _

__“Listen here you idiot, I didn´t take a six hour flight to watch you convulse and speak in tongues, _get up_ ” Well, that solves the mystery._ _

__Though his eyelids feel as though they´re made of lead, Tony opens his eyes. Loki´s face is paler than usual and his eyes look a bit crazed, but he lets go of Tony´s shoulders and allows him to fall back on the couch. Across from him, Tony can see Pepper tapping away at her phone._ _

__“Nice to see you´re worried about me Peps” he says, only part joking._ _

__Pepper puts the phone down after a final tap. “I was making backups” she says. Then, at Tony´s puzzled face. “My phone was recording when you put that thing on” there´s no trace of alcohol left in her voice, Tony can only assume the shock sobered her up, as it did with him._ _

__“So you got everything?” he asks, impressed._ _

__“Not everything. I mean I did almost drop the phone when you started speaking in Bruce´s voice, but I got most of it” Pepper shrugs and passes the phone over._ _

__Tony taps on the play icon, and sees himself, sees Loki draping the coat over his shoulders. His eyes turn back into his head, and Bruce´s voice is coming out of him all of a sudden._ _

__“Who were you even talking to?” Loki asks softly by his side, as if he´s afraid of blowing Tony away with merely a word._ _

__Tony lays a comforting hand over his thigh, and locks eyes with Pepper over the coffee table, the empty beer bottles and the leftover thai food._ _

__“He was talking to Obadiah”_ _

__He sees Pepper´s eyes widen, but she doesn´t look too surprised. If anything, her face is the clearest depiction of fear Tony´s ever seen._ _

__“So… yeah” A new voice pipes in, and they all flinch in their places before they notice Bruce, hunched over the bundled lab coat resting on the floor “That was my last ever phone call… I like to think I ended it pretty well, if you ignore what happened later”_ _

__\--_ _

__“Was it him?” Tony asks once they´ve all regained some semblance of calm. He´s back at the couch with Loki, Pepper´s sipping a cup of tea, and Bruce´s hovering in a sitting position over his labcoat. He swivels from side to side, and Tony gets the impression that he´s sitting on a spectral office chair._ _

__“Hmm?” Bruce mumbles, as if startled out of some particularly engaging thought “Was it who?”_ _

__“Obadiah!” Tony exclaims. How can he be so fucking disinterested?! “Was it Obadiah who killed you?!”_ _

__“Oh that! Of course not, he wouldn´t get his hands dirty on someone like me” Says Bruce, shrugging. “I didn´t see their faces, to be honest. They put a gag in my mouth and a burlap sack over my head first thing, before they even got me to my car”_ _

__More than anything, what makes Tony see red is the fact that Bruce speaks of his death like that, like it´s not something of importance, like the fact that someone ended his life like squashing a bug because he was trying to do good is nothing in the grand scheme of things._ _

__“But he ordered it” Says Loki calmly, before Tony can begin screaming. Tony looks at him, and he´s staring at Bruce with a thoughtful expression. “He was so _scared_ of you he had to have you killed as soon as possible. He knew you could have destroyed him.”_ _

__“That´s… I don´t think he considered me that important” Bruce says. His ghastly cheeks turn a little opaque. “He didn´t even have my house searched. Not that I hid anything there anyways, but still”_ _

__And just like that, Tony´s anger is gone, and he feels like he´s plummeting down a cliff. “So you _did_ hide something somewhere?” He asks, excited._ _

__“I… Yes” Bruce replies. “It´s at a tea salon I used to visit whenever I got too stressed. The restroom had a loose ceiling tile”_ _

__“Matcha House?” Pepper asks, and shrugs when everyone turns to look at her. “It´s a nice place. And his personal affairs box had a coaster with the logo”_ _

__“It´s a very nice place” Nods Bruce with a fond smile. “I made copies of all the reports regarding the testing in humans. I wasn´t the only volunteer, but they all ended the same as me, and then they began to die” He sighs “Kidney and liver failure, heart attacks, respiratory arrest… The serum literally exhausted them to death.” He looks up then, straight into Tony´s eyes. “I don´t care that I died Tony. I deserved it, for even helping in developing that poison. But you have to stop it from getting out there, from killing more people. I´m begging you. You have to fix my mistake”_ _

__Tony knows that, in theory, Bruce´s so called ´mistake´ would fix itself eventually. As soon as the first death happened, the serum would be tested by external sources, and its lethality would be proved. As program director Obadiah would be charged with negligence at least and murder at worst, and Stark Industries would face the worst media scandal in its entire existence._ _

__Still, he nods. His father´s company can go to the pigs for all he cares right now. Obadiah can spend the rest of his life living it up at some Caribbean paradise, knowing that he killed a man with no more effort than the one it takes to make a phone call._ _

__If Bruce´s last wish is to stop that serum from going public, he was going to _destroy_ it._ _

__\--_ _

___They´ve tied his hands with a piece of rope over a strap of cloth, to avoid leaving marks. It´s the first clue Bruce gets that these are professionals. Up until the gag and the sack he thought Stane had just hired some street thugs, he certainly feels flattered._ _ _

___The car engine revs up, and Bruce has a moment of clarity. He knows he´s going to die then, either there in the car or wherever they´re taking him. His thoughts go back to the thick folder taped to the back of that loose tile at Matcha House, and he wishes he´d had someone to tell about it. Maybe if he hadn´t been such a freaking hermit…_ _ _

___The acrid smell of smoke begins to fill the car-_ _ _

__Tony sits up, choking on air and clawing at the sheets. The fact that the room is pitch dark is not really helping either._ _

__“Hey! Hey, chill” Loki´s voice comes from somewhere behind him, and a cold white glow fills the room. There´s a hand on Tony´s arm, and when he turns he finds that Loki´s turned his cell phone flashlight app on. “You´re ok.” Loki adds._ _

__“I´m sorry” Is the first coherent think Tony can say. “I… This is not what you signed up for when coming here, I´m sure”_ _

__“It isn´t” Loki shrugs, and wraps his arm carefully around Tony´s shoulders, slowly enough that Tony knows he could squirm away from his touch if he wanted to. When he doesn´t move, Loki finishes draping his arm, and pulls him back down. He ends up laying with his head on Loki´s bony chest, which is not comfortable in the least, but Tony finds that he likes it either way. “I don´t mind too much.”_ _

__They stay there, in silence, for what feels like hours. The phone is the only source of light, and the cold white makes Loki´s sharp features project weird, almost creepy shadows. Tony can feel his slender, long fingers tracing random patterns against his scalp._ _

__“Thanks for coming” Tony mutters._ _

__Loki leans forward to rest his lips against Tony´s forehead and _it´s not even a kiss_ but Tony still feels like his heart´s going to beat its way straight out of his chest._ _

__“What´s the deal with you and Stane?” Asks Loki, his breath warm on Tony´s skin._ _

__Tony doesn´t think it´s ever been this hard to explain before._ _

__Obadiah has been everything to him. He´s been a father, a mentor, a friend, a boss, but mostly he´s been the only truly constant thing in Tony´s life, his presence steady by his side through his parent´s deaths. Tony can still picture him clearly, clapping loudly and tearing up when he graduated from MIT, can feel his hand squeezing his shoulder as he signed the papers that declared him fully capable of taking on his responsibilities as Stark Industries´ CEO, hear his encouraging words when he told him about his plans, about going away and making it big by himself._ _

__“He´s someone who lied to me” he hates that he sounds so vulnerable. Loki wraps his arm tighter around his shoulders, and Tony knows he´s hearing _a lot_ of unsaid things._ _

__“It´s ok” Loki says. “We´re going to make him pay. For Bruce” he adds, as if he knows that it´s the only way Tony will allow himself to rationalise this, because otherwise he´d be betraying a man who raised him._ _

__“We are” Tony agrees. There are more nightmares, when he drifts back to sleep, but they´re not about Bruce anymore. Instead, Obadiah´s tying his hands and turning a car on, and letting Tony to die while he watches with a smile._ _

__\--_ _

__In the end it's Loki and Tony who go visit the Matcha House, since Pepper has "important work to do" at the office -it mostly implies inventing some new paperwork that _absolutely_ needs to be filled, to stall the product's launch- and she can't "go on cute tea dates", the traitor._ _

__"Table for two please" he tells the waitress with a smile. If _everyone_ is so determined that he takes Loki out, he's going to do it, even if it's only to prove them all wrong._ _

__"I thought we were only here to get the papers" Loki says, but he's got a playful smile in his face._ _

__"Gotta be subtle Sweetcheeks" Tony replies as they follow the waitress to their table and order whatever. "Besides, I figured you probably couldn't remember the last time someone took you on an actual date and wanted to be nice"_ _

__Loki rolls his eyes. "You do realize I'm the hot bachelor with a tragic backstory that returned to his hometown after being missing for ten years, don't you?" he asks "I was blocking numbers left and right for a week until Sif and the others got the word out that I was "just as much of a jerk as before" and people left me alone"_ _

__"Poor, _poor_ you, I feel so sorry" Tony flicks him a stray grain of sugar left on the table._ _

__"So..." Loki ignores his teasing with a smirk. "Are we doing the whole date talk thing? Hobbies and workplaces and awkward laughing?"_ _

__"We could" Tony shrugs simply because there is no way in hell he's letting Loki intimidate him into a corner with banter. It was him who wanted to meet again, to make it a point to acknowledge that something was happening, and he doesn't get to back out with a few jokes. "Or I could ask you how your parents are, and if Balder made it into the soccer team"_ _

__It has the expected effect, Loki looks for a second like he's been slapped, then deflates. The waitress places two cups of tea on the table between them, and Loki takes a loooong time to stir sugar into his._ _

__"He made it. His first game's next month, I promised him I'd be there" he says finally. "My parents... were not too thrilled to see me leave again, but they handled it well" Loki stops to take a sip of the tea, before looking back at Tony. "How are the kids? And T'challa? Sam seems... nice"_ _

__"Right now the kids are pretty much just a bundle of exposed raw nerves, finals and everything" Tony smiles, and so does Loki._ _

__They're talking then, one after the other, sometimes _over_ the other, retelling stories they've told through a text screen before, laughing at shared jokes. At some point Tony calls Fandral "your friend Robin Hood" and Loki snorts and laughs for a whole minute in the most unattractive way ever._ _

__Tony finds himself smiling fondly the whole time. He also finds that his tea's long since gone cold. He doesn't care about either._ _

__"I didn't see Redwing when I was there" Loki sighs. "I'm not going to lie, it's one of the main reasons I stopped by the bookstore rather than going straight to your house"_ _

__"Huh... I always took you for a cat person" Tony says, running his index finger absentmindedly over the back of Loki's hand._ _

__"Nah. Too high maintenance" Loki says, then pinches Tony's arm when he snorts. "Shut it" he warns "I used to have a dog, before I left home. He was already old by the time Thor died, so... Well, my parents had to put him down. It might sound stupid, but not being there's one of the things I regret the most"_ _

__He looks... Resigned. Like a man that's lost half his life and doesn't know how to retake it. Or alternately, like a man that turns on his videogame console after a month of not playing and has no idea what he had to do to beat this level._ _

__"You got any pics of him?" Tony asks. Life is a videogame he hasn't mastered either, so giving Loki advice would feel hypocritical._ _

__Loki's already scrolling and tapping at his phone, and Tony rolls his eyes. Typical dog owner. "Here, his name was Fenrir" he says then, and when he passes the phone over Tony gets a look at the biggest dog he's seen in his life._ _

__"Loks... I dont want to alarm you, but I think that's a horse" Tony says, and it's Loki's turn to roll his eyes. "Ok ok, a puppy. He was a cutie. Like you"_ _

__"Flattery will get you nowhere, Stark" Loki says, but he _does_ look like a contented cat. Tony finds that he likes the smug, slightly flushed look. "Think it's time to get the files?"_ _

__The reality of their situation comes back skidding like a car on a slippery highway. Of course their first date had to be a mission to retrieve a dead man's lost files to topple an evil corporation._ _

__"I do, but it might look bad if we both go to the restroom at the same time" he winks at the exact same time Loki smirks. "Go, I'll pay"_ _

__Loki nods once curtly, and gets to his feet. He walks calmly across the tea house, and Tony loses sight of him when he turns a corner._ _

__The nice waitress comes over, and Tony pays for their drinks and adds a nice tip for the girl, who seems to be around Wanda and the Peters' ages. After she takes the money away, Tony stands up and goes to wait by the entrance._ _

__"Thanks for waiting" Says Loki suddenly and loudly, looping his left arm through Tony's right. "Ready?"_ _

__"Always ready for you" Tony says and leans up to place a soft peck on Loki's pale lips. There. If anyone's watching them, if anyone is asked later, they will only say they saw a nice, lovey dovey couple that tipped well._ _

__It's not until they're six blocks away from the tea house that Tony dares asking._ _

__"You got them?"_ _

__Loki nods. "I found a folder. Didn't want to go through it there, so I just tucked it in under my shirt and left"_ _

__"Good. We can get photocopies at Pepper's place" Tony says. He takes as many random turns as he can, in case someone's following; it feels a little paranoid, until he remembers there's at least one man that's dead because of the folders currently under Loki's clothes._ _

__He drives faster._ _

__\--_ _

__"... and it seems like we will continue to talk about it, since Obadiah Stane himself just responded a tweet saying that Stark Industries will "not keep its doors closed to opportunity" and they will-" Tony switches channels, but his plan is, it seems, unsuccessful._ _

__"We all know what it means" says a man in a suit with a tie that's much too tight. "Stane is letting the US government know that if it doesn't spend an absurd fortune buying the private use of this miracle serum, he's going to sell it to other countries" he goes progressively redder as he speaks. Tony's afraid he might get a stroke or something. Not too much though, as he turns the TV off._ _

__Foreign armies having the ability to reenergize and restore their soldiers on the battlefield sounds terrifying, of course._ _

__The only thing that's more terrifying, he decides, is foreign countries turning their soldiers into rage fueled, hyper strong monsters that have a 50-50 chance of attacking the enemy, Tony thinks. Or any country, really._ _

__"Hey" Loki plops himself on the couch next to him. "13 Things I Hate About You got added on Netflix. Wanna watch it with me?"_ _

__This manages to bring a smile to Tony's face. "I do, but I hope you realize you're willingly giving me the power to hold this over your head for the rest of eternity"_ _

__Loki rolls his eyes and lays on the couch, resting his head nonchalantly on Tony's thigh. "Look Tony, you can pretend you don't want to see young Heath Ledger singing with a marching band, but we both know it's a lie so let's just watch the movie in peace"_ _

__The movie's just as cheesy as Tony remembered, and it quickly helps him forget about anything else outside the feeling of Loki's hair under his fingers, and the man's soft humming to "can't take my eyes off you"._ _

__It feels a bit strange, to remember he was panicking about this not a week ago. Loki looks perfectly content, at ease in a way the Loki he met at the club would never have been, and a knot unclenches in Tony's stomach. He had helped Loki. Maybe whatever this was, it would collapse in a week or two, maybe even a month, but he'd helped Loki in a way that had changed him forever._ _

__He bends forward to place a kiss on Loki's forehead, and when he straightens up he finds the man looking up quizzically at him with his _too green_ eyes._ _

__"What was that for?" he asks_ _

__Tony shrugs. "Dunno. 'I wanna hold you so much', I guess" he smiles teasingly._ _

__Loki rolls his eyes, but the soft smile on his thin lips and the long fingers that tangle in Tony's collar to pull him down for an awkward and delicious kids are a clear indication that Loki doesn't find him that annoying._ _

__

__\--_ _

__

__"You're crazy" Loki says, just at the same time Pepper goes "This is a terrible idea"_ _

__Tony wants to sigh and pull at his hair for the tenth time that day but instead he only shakes his head. They don't know Obbie like he does, Obbie..._ _

__He couldn't have ignored this amount of evidence, he _wouldn't_ have. He probably thought Bruce was sabotaging him to keep the patent to the serum for himself and-_ _

___And he had him killed?_ asks an acidic voice that sounds like Steve whenever Tony drinks more than he should. Tony shakes his head harder then, because he doesn't need a remainder of that. Maybe Obbie had thought this was what needed to be done to protect the company._ _

__"It's worth a chance" he says. he aims a look at Bruce, but the ghost won't look at him, won't talk to him. Ever since they recovered the report files, he's been floating in front of the coffee table, staring at them and flickering on, off, on, off..._ _

__"Tony, if Obadiah did this-_ _

__"There has to be a reason Peps" Tony interrupts her. "And I'm going to find out what it is"_ _

__He walks out of Pepper's apartment and takes a cab before any of them can stop him. before he can stop himself. The briefcase with the reports photocopies weighs a ton in his hand._ _

__When he says he needs an urgent meeting with the CEO the receptionist tries to wave him away, but then he mentions Obadiah by name. She looks up and pales three shades when she finally recognizes him._ _

__"Come right this way, Mr. Stark, I'll let Mr. Stane know you're here" she says shakily, guiding him to a waiting room. It feels odd, waiting like a guest at his own company, but then again Tony threw that away a long time ago._ _

__Obadiah comes out into the hallway personally, sporting a wide, warm grin that Tony can't help but return, all thoughts of Bruce's death and his own nightmares fading at the sight of the man who raised him._ _

__“Tony my boy!” He greets, pulling him off his seat and in for a rough hug. “I had to see this for myself, I never thought I'd see you back here of your own volition”_ _

__“Well, life gives many turns huh?” Tony smiles as he lets go “I came to visit Pepper and well, I thought I'd take a day off to see you”_ _

__"Well I can't say I don't appreciate it, but I do wish you'd have given me a bit of a heads up to clean my schedule for you" Obadiah gives the back of Tony's head a light pat with a mock stern expression, like Tony remembers him doing when he was fifteen._ _

__"I don't want you to take me to Chuck E. Cheese for lunch old man, I just wanted to see you" Tony retaliates with a smirk. Something in the back of his mind keeps telling him that something's wrong, that things aren't the same as before, but the old routine is too familiar to shake off. "What are you in for today?"_ _

__"This and that" Obadiah shrugs as they sit on the small, cozy set of armchairs in front of the office's floor to ceiling window. "A meeting with the board, a check-up on some projects, and yet another press conference for the serum" he rolls his eyes, and just like that, Tony feels the weight of the world settle back on his stomach._ _

__"About that..." He manages to force past his dry throat, several minutes later. "I..m well, I know I'm technically not part of the company anymore but-"_ _

__"Don't be stupid" Obadiah rolls his eyes again. It's meant -as it usually is, coming from him- to be friendly, a light poke at his stubbornness rather than a barb at his intelligence, but Tony has to restrain the urge to flinch. "You _are_ the company. I won't deny you could afford to be more involved in the decisions but-"_ _

__"I don't want us to put the serum out" Tony blurts out then. He wants to tell himself he's not nervous, but his sweaty palms are _decidedly_ non calm. _ _

__"What?" Obbadiah looks at him as if worried that one of them has suddenly gone crazy. "You've never been just outright against a campaign before. Why this one?"_ _

__And Tony thanks whatever, whoever is up there, that Obbadiah didn't just say no. He wants to understand, to hear his point of view just like he's always done before whenever they disagree. It's with this hope, this regained trust, that he responds._ _

__"It's not safe. Too volatile, and-" Tony stops talking, when Obadiah lifts a hand._ _

__"Tony, it's been tested extensively and it hasn't shown-" maybe it's because a part of him _knows_ Obbie's about to lie to his face and Tony knows he won't be able to take it, that he blurts out his following words._ _

__"I was friends with Bruce"_ _

__Just like that, Obadiah seems to deflate. His skin loses color almost immediately, and he takes a slow step forward that makes Tony flinch involuntarily._ _

__"Son, I'm so sorry" he speaks, and his words pierce right through Tony's defenses. Obadiah´s eyes are sharp as always, catching onto every detail of Tony´s reaction, but his words are consoling. "I'm so sorry, we knew the investigation was taking its toll on him, but we never expected him to... To do that" Obadiah says before sighing. "He was a brilliant man. I had no idea you were close, I... I'm sorry I wasn't there for you Tony” he then takes another step forward, and Tony doesn't flinch this time. Rather, he lets him wrap his arms around his shoulders like he did so many years ago when his parents didn't make it out of the hospital._ _

__Tony sees Bruce then, standing next to Obadiah´s desk and staring at him._ _

__“I´ll tell you what” Obadiah speaks. He squeezes Tony a bit harder, and the slight breathlessness that comes with it is familiar. “I´m going to cancel the press conference, and we can talk this over. Tonight? We´ll figure something out, I promise”_ _

__Bruce is still staring._ _

__Tony looks away._ _

__\-------------------------------------------------_ _

__He jumps a foot in the air, when a hand clamps down on his shoulder. Tony snarls as he´s roughly turned around._ _

__“What the-” and stops when he notices it´s just Loki “Oh. What are you doing here? I thought you were sight seeing or something”_ _

__“Yes, a nice walk down a vineyard was exactly the first thing on my mind after you ran out the apartment intent on meeting with a murderer” Loki spits back at him “Pepper and I wanted to make sure you were still ali-”_ _

__“Oh, right. Silly me, I forgot to tell you Obadiah gave the day off to that trained sniper he keeps watching his office just in case, so I was safe” Tony shakes his shoulder free of Loki´s grip. “Alive and kicking, as you can see.” He turns around then, and resumes walking. It doesn´t take long before Loki´s longer strides catch up with him._ _

__“What´s gotten into you?” Loki whispers furiously “You _know_ why we´re worried.”_ _

__“Maybe I don´t” Tony responds, turning to face Loki again. “Maybe I´m not sure anymore ok? I had to come and make sure, I can´t just run away Loki, that´s your job not mine”_ _

__It´s only when Loki recoils as if burned, that Tony catches his words and winces._ _

__“Wait, I didn´t-”_ _

__“Don´t bother” Loki´s voice is gelid, and Tony can feel it like ice shards digging into him._ _

__“No Loki, I-”_ _

__“I don´t want to hear it” Loki turns away and begins to walk away and before Tony knows what´s happening he´s throwing himself forward and clinging to Loki´s wrist with bruising strength. “Let go.”_ _

__“No”_ _

__“I´m not asking-”_ _

__“I don´t want you to go” Tony says, and has enough of a mind to wonder why the words took so long to come. “Please. I… Let me show you something?”_ _

__Loki looks over his shoulder at Tony, and Tony can´t help but notice that there´s actual emotion in Loki´s green eyes, and that it´s more than he´s seen in them since that night in Thor´s memories, even if said emotion is hurt._ _

__“I just want you to understand” Tony insists because he knows if Loki walks away again he´s not going to see him again, and while he´s sure he´s more than capable of living his life without Loki and whatever it is they have, he knows this is not the way he wants it to end._ _

__After what feels like an eternity, Loki huffs and his shoulders slump._ _

__\------------------------------_ _

___To live in the hearts of those we love is not to die._ _ _

__The inscription engraved on the white marble is still clear as ever, and it mocks Tony like it always has, because his parents´ absence has burned a hole in his chest every day for the last two and a half decades, and it has never made it feel as though they were any less dead._ _

__Loki´s still silent at his side, but at least his presence doesn´t exude rage, like it did during the full twenty minutes of the most uncomfortable cab ride Tony´s experienced._ _

__“Maria and Howard…” Loki says after a while. “Nice names.”_ _

__“They were nice people.” Tony responds simply. “They-” he clears his throat. “It was a mugging that went wrong.”_ _

__“I´m sorry”_ _

__“Me too”_ _

__They stand in silence for a while longer, before Tony sighs and sits down in front of the headstone, legs crossed._ _

__“I was ten” He begins again “They survived initially, or at least my father did. They revived my mom on the ambulance, but they never came out of surgery.” Loki sits next to him, after a moment´s hesitation. “Obadiah took care of me afterwards. He was named as my legal guardian on my parents´ will, and well, he did all he could. Moved into the manor with me, moved us _out_ of the manor when I began to have nervous breakdowns and panic attacks, never missed a science fair, bought me my first tux for prom…” Tony chuckles to himself “The man bought me my first box of condoms, for god´s sake”_ _

__Next to him, Loki exhales slowly. “He raised you”_ _

__Tony nods._ _

__“I don´t… I want this to be a misunderstanding, Lokes. I don´t think I´ve ever wanted something as badly, and I want a lot of things. Obbie´s always been tough and strict, but he´s not a murderer, I… Don´t want him to be.” He turns a little. Loki´s rubbing the bridge of his nose with pointer finger and thumb. “But it doesn´t make what I said any less… wrong. I think I know what running away from one´s troubles is pretty well… And I´m sorry.”_ _

__Loki doesn´t look at him. Instead, he remains looking at the headstones for a long moment, until Tony thinks that _that_ is the answer he was waiting for and he should cut his losses and offer to split the cab fare to Pepper´s apartment. Then, Loki speaks._ _

__“I don´t know if you know this” he begins. Tony turns to look at him, but Loki´s… speaking at the tombstones? “But you´re lucky you made your son so pretty, because he can be a right insensitive asshole”_ _

__Tony can´t help the grin spreading through his face. “Well, mom always did say she married my dad for his looks”_ _

__“Shut up, you´re not forgiven yet”_ _

__“I thought you said I was too pretty to be angry at”_ _

__

__“Not _that_ pretty”_ _

__Still, their hands are touching on the grass and Tony can´t be bothered to hide his relief. Suddenly, tonight´s talk with Obadiah doesn´t seem so terrible._ _

__\--------------------_ _

__Obadiah calls that evening, and he tells Tony in his no nonsense voice that they´re meeting at his house. Tony shrugs it off; this _is_ a conversation concerning confidential information, after all. A sharp paparazzi with a good mic catching the words “failed tests” and “dangerous” at a restaurant and the entire company would be fucked.  
This is how he finds himself standing in front of a very familiar wrought iron fence, one sweaty hand in his pocket and the other clutching a folder containing copies of the documents they recovered from the Matcha House._ _

__Tony had tried to ask Bruce about additional information, about simple ways they could delay the launch while they perfected the formula, but the ghost hadn´t appeared, and his absence weighs like a stone on Tony´s chest as Obadiah opens the door for him, and he walks through the threshold feeling lonelier than ever._ _

__“Take a seat” Obbie leads Tony to the living room. The furniture is different from the last time Tony was here, and he's not surprised at the crisp, sleek leather of the couches and the glass and metal tables. Obbie always did like to show off two things: good taste and money._ _

__“No dinner?” Tony asks with a teasing smile “I'm a bit disappointed”_ _

__“Maybe after we talk” Obbie smiles. Tony frowns at this, because Obadiah’s always enjoyed talking business at the table. And well, everywhere else, Tony can still remember his twelfth birthday, when Tony had to start his own “happy birthday” chorus because Obadiah was closing a deal with one of his guests´ parents._ _

__After shuffling on the couch for a few moments, Tony sighs. “Well… I think I already said what I thought about this"_ _

__Obadiah nods once, slow and solemn. “You did… but I must admit I'm not entirely sure you're looking at this with a cool head, emotions are not good for business, I´m sure you remember.” He says, leaning forward to pat Tony's knee. “The serum is, quite literally, Dr. Banner's life work. I believed, and I still do, that the best way to honor him is to perfect his invention and use it to help others, so that his death wasn't in vain"_ _

__“But it's not what he wanted Obbie, he… this shit was dangerous, he wanted it to stop, to-”_ _

__“Tony” Obadiah speaks over him with that firm, voice that always meant Tony was starting to run his patience thin. Tony shuts up immediately. “You're being unreasonable. No one spends a year of their life working day and night on something they don't want to succeed. Not even the good doctor, even if he might have been a little emotionally unstable”_ _

__Tony looks down, to notice his knuckles have gone white around the folder.“What about this then?”_ _

__“What about what?” Obadiah arches an eyebrow, and Tony drops the folder on the table._ _

__From the way Obbie’s hand trembles when he reaches for it, Tony knows he's not ignorant to their content._ _

__Tony watches in silence as Obadiah’s face lgoes grey, and his brow furrows._ _

__“This has been dealt with” he says, in a voice that's sharp and final and leaves no room for debate._ _

__“So it's not dangerous anymore?” Tony stares at him flatly. “A hundred percent safe, no bodycount, nothing? Because when that shit hits the market, it's all people are going to be looking at, and if it kills someone, we might as well burn the office building ourselves rather than wait for the public to do it”_ _

__Obadiah looks at him like he's a completely different person, and it takes Tony a moment to realize this is the first time he's ever been so adamant about disagreeing with him._ _

__“We reduced the mortality rate” Obbie says at last. “Those who survive the initial adrenaline and testosterone surge should be fine for enough years that no one could link us to them. Those who don't… well, they were already in a dire situation, I guess”_ _

__And this is so cold, so alien to the Obadiah Tony knows, the one that tells cheesy puns at dinner, that makes sure to visit Maria and Howard's graves every month, that he believes for a second that this is all an elaborate nightmare and he's going to wake up, thrashing and sweating next to Loki._ _

__He leans heavily on his elbows, resting them on his knees because he feels dizzy, like the feeling one gets when they think there's another step but the staircase is over.  
It takes a moment for the floor to stop spinning, but even after it does he needs to take a deep breath before speaking._ _

__"So it's true" is all he can muster at first, but his voice draws strength as he goes. "You don't care. As long as there's money involved, you don't give a crap"_ _

__Across from him, Obadiah sighs. "You're being unreasonable. I give a crap about real things, not what if's. Things that can hurt the company-"_ _

__"Like Bruce?" Tony interrupts, still looking down. He can feel the temperature in the room descending several degrees and he can't tell if it's because of Obadiah's heavy silence or because of the wispy tendrils of greenish fog swirling around his ankles._ _

__"Dr. Banner's suicide was a terrible tragedy" Obadiah says. He's enunciating the words carefully, and Tony doesn't miss the emphasis to the word 'suicide'._ _

__"Was it though?" Tony extends his right hand's fingers, and the greenish mist twirls around and over them, making them cold and numb. Bruce feels exceptionally calm, for someone in the presence of their murderer -Tony supposes being already dead and thus untouchable helps a lot- and Tony uses his collected, calm mind to keep himself from losing his temper. "One would suggest that a chemist as accomplished as Bruce would've looked for a much more effective and less painful method."_ _

___"Thank you, but a really accomplished chemist would never have developed that shit on the first time"_ Bruce says in his mind, and Tony rolls his eyes. The fact that his friend is so at ease with having been murdered is still irking._ _

__Obadiah clears his throat. "Dr. Banner wasn't exactly in the best state of mind. Desperate people do desperate things." He began, and then added with heavy finality "I _recommend_ you come to terms with that fact"_ _

__Tony looks up at this, and it hurts, that a simple sentence was enough to destroy everything he thought he knew about Obbie for decades. However, he can hear Bruce's voice in his mind during that last call. How scared he was, how convinced that this would be his last act of defiance, and so determined to get it out._ _

__Some things, he decides, ought to be done in spite of fear. Because of it, even._ _

__"I know what you did Obbie" Tony says, fists clenched tight on the fabric of his pants. He feels a soft hand come to rest at his shoulder, and the knowledge that he's finally doing right by Bruce, even if it took him a while, is enough to keep his eyes fixed on Obadiah's. "And if you don't take the serum out of production and scrap the project, I'm going to make it public"_ _

__It feels as though time has stopped, the both of them staring at each other with the stillness of statues. Tony knows now he's found a rattlesnake in its nest, and he's now wondering whether he's scared it enough for it to retreat, or if this is the tension before the strike._ _

__Then, Obadiah breaks the spell, bending forward and burying his face in his hands._ _

__"Oh Tony..." Is all he can say, and Tony can feel his chest clenching. Obbie has never looked so old, so tired or so broken._ _

__"We can fix this" Tony says. "Bruce... He doesn't blame you, I promise" he can't very well explain how he's so sure of this. "We just have to stop the serum, it's the only thing he cared about"_ _

___"Hey tell him I said thanks for hiring professionals, it was very flattering"_ Bruce speaks, flickering into sight behind the couch Obbadiah's sitting on. Tony gives him his best glare because this is **not** the time for Bruce to be weird. _"What? Random thugs would've been less efficient, I appreciate it being done fast and easy"__ _

__"Shut-" Tony begins to groan, unable to stop himself. Bruce is _totally_ wrecking the mood. He stops, however, when Obadiah climbs to his feet._ _

__"Come with me son" he asks, voice tired but firm. "Into my study. Please"_ _

__And Tony follows, up the stairs and through the corridor and past the polished door, into Obadiah's home office. It's changed little since the last time Tony was here, and he even spies an old, yellowish grade card and a detailed, though clearly amateur, drawing of a motor. He recognizes them, they're both his, and again he wishes he'd never moved into his house, that he'd never found out about this other part of Obbie's life._ _

__Obadiah's at the desk, rummaging through papers. Tony guesses he's going to try and throw numbers at him, to make him see why they can't afford to cut the serum out, and it leaves a bad taste in his mouth._ _

__"You know I never wanted it to happen, don't you?" Obbie says suddenly._ _

__Tony's just begun to nod, even before Obbie finishes his question, but Bruce's words in his head are faster._ _

___"Get out"_ he says, voice tight and urgent and scared for once _"Get out NOW"__ _

__And Tony flinches, begins to obey on instinct, when Obadiah turns and he hears the shot._ _

__His thigh burns, and Tony falls to the ground more out of surprise than pain. It's odd, he thinks. As if he's watching this rather than living it, because this is obviously not his life. There's no way Obbie just shot him, no way he's walking towards him, gun in hand and lips curled into a grim line._ _

__"I'm so sorry, but I can't allow you to bring everything down." Obbie says. "What happened to Dr. Banner, it's haunted me for years, but it was necessary" the gun, as he paces, is loosely pointed at Tony. A threat. A warning._ _

__Tony tries to scream, to move, to tell the man before him that Pepper and Loki know where he went, that they'll make sure he gets caught for this, but all that comes out is a weak "Obbie..."_ _

__Obadiah grimaces. "It doesn't have to be like this" he says after a pause "We can pretend this never happened, your designs are still making millions for the company, even if you haven't been actually useful in years.. No one needs to know about it. Dr. Banner is already gone, he doesn't matter anymore, **please** let it rest. I won't let a lonely man's memory destroy all your father and I built"_ _

___"Say yes"_ Bruce says immediately. He materializes between Tony and Obadiah, but Tony knows he's the only one that can see him _"Whatever gets you out alive Tony, come on. Forget it, it's not worth it-"__ _

__Tony's eyes harden and his gaze goes through Bruce and straight at Obadiah, even when his next words are aimed at the both of them._ _

__"He matters so much more than you know" he says. His voice is thick and raspy with fear but he forces it out. "Even if you kill your best friend's son here, Bruce Banner will be the one that brought you down"_ _

__Obadiah flinches at his words, but his grip on the gun becomes firmer, and he lifts it. Tony can look down the dark muzzle, and he wonders if this is what his parents saw in their last moments too._ _

___"What are you doing?!"_ Bruce's voice is panicked, but Tony pays no mind. He made his choice. This is between him and Obadiah now._ _

__"Who else knows?" Obadiah asks_ _

__"Does it matter? You can't wipe everyone out" Tony attempts to give a cheeky grin; he thinks he deserves an E for effort at least._ _

__"I can't. But I got people"_ _

__Tony arches an eyebrow "Then why are you taking care of me yourself?"_ _

___"Tony!"_ _ _

__"Haven't I always? Even if your gratefulness leaves a lot to be desired." Obadiah arches an eyebrow "I didn't know how much you knew. I couldn't just have you killed, I wanted to try to... Reason with you. I wanted to convince you of taking the right path and in case I didn't... You deserve something better"_ _

___"Please shut up, please..._ _ _

__And it makes Tony's blood boil. He flares up at the man who raised him, the man who will kill him._ _

__"You don't"_ _

___"TONY!"_ _ _

__Obadiah presses the trigger, the gun roars, and Tony sees green._ _

__\--------_ _

__Everything has a green tint to it, and Tony has never felt more out of control. Next to him he can feel Bruce´s presence, but Bruce is… Not just Bruce. There´s something else, _someone_ else, and there´s so much blind rage, that it´s everything Tony can do to hold on to his mind, to not lose himself in the hot red torrent._ _

__He feels his body moving, recognizes the horrible feeling of flesh under his fingers, of something snapping, his knuckles tearing open and the smell of his own blood._ _

__When he looks up, he catches a glimpse of his reflection in the window glass. He´s there alright, but he´s not the only one. All around him the greenish mist that announced Bruce´s arrival has surrounded him, shaping a body that´s ten times the size of a man, a body that should by no means fit inside the room, a body… That has Obadiah´s squirming body in its hands as it twists and squeezes, teeth bared in a silent snarl._ _

__At that point, Tony loses his hold on consciousness._ _

__\--------_ _

__When he comes to, his body aches like that time he decided to turn his life around and go to the gym and lasted a day because he was clearly dying and _please_ Pepper call an ambulance._ _

__He takes a hand to his forehead, and is quite surprised to find it smooth and in one piece, rather than sporting an ugly entry hole._ _

__"Uh... Bruce?" Tony asks, getting to his feet with what feels like enough effort to outright kill him. He turns around; the office is empty, the neat bookshelves look like a hurricane went through them, the window glass is cracked, the carpet is torn… As his gaze runs over the broken desk again, he jumps back._ _

__There´s a man standing there, his back facing him._ _

__“Hey.” Tony says at last, walking over. This is the most solid he´s ever seen Bruce manifest, and it´s unnerving and rewarding at the same time._ _

__“Hey… Sorry” Or it is until Bruce speaks looking down at the floor, and Tony notices the bloodied hand peeking out from behind the desk. Tony feels his head begin to spin, and he focuses on Bruce´s face to keep himself grounded._ _

__“I´m-”_ _

__“He was going to shoot you. I just… I couldn´t let it happen” Bruce speaks again. His face is carefully devoid of emotion, but Tony notices that as they speak, that his skin shows a green hue receding slowly down his neck. “I couldn´t”_ _

__They stand there in silence. Tony can´t bring himself to look behind the desk, to see Obadiah´s broken body and know that he did this. To know what would have happened if he hadn´t, if Bruce hadn´t intervened._ _

__The ringing of his phone makes Tony jump and Bruce flicker, and Tony fumbles with the damned thing for a moment before managing to take the call._ _

__“Hello?” He asks_ _

___“Tony?”_ Pepper´s blessed voice comes in through the line. _“You promised you would text us as often as you could… Is everything ok?”__ _

__Tony actually laughs at this, a short, hysteric bark._ _

___“I´ll take that to mean that everything is most definitely not ok”_ That´s Loki´s voice in the background. Pepper shushes him._ _

___“What happened?”_ She asks._ _

__“I… He tried to shoot me. He shot me, I think, did he-?” Tony turns to ask Bruce._ _

__Bruce shrugs “It was a graze only. I think I healed it when I possessed you”_ _

__“He shot me but I´m ok” He adds, to Pepper´s anxious nagging. “He was going to finish the job I think. And then…”_ _

___“Tony, this is not the time for suspense”_ Pepper snarls_ _

__“I killed him”_ _

___“WHAT?!”_ This time it´s both Loki and Pepper´s voices. Tony takes the phone away from his ear, and Bruce leans forward._ _

__“Actually, I did” He corrects. “I used Tony´s body, but it was all me”_ _

__There´s a shuffling noise on the other side of the line._ _

___“Will his fingerprints be there then?”_ Loki asks. His voice is cold and businesslike, and the fact that he at least seems to be in control makes Tony snap back of his silent contemplation, and he looks quizzically at Bruce._ _

__“Not really. Tony´s body never actually touched him” Bruce says. “It´s… complicated”_ _

___“Is ´complicated´ enough to leave DNA traces?”_ Loki insists _“Come on Bruce, you were a scientist and now you´re a supernatural entity. You can tell me if they´ll be able to trace this back to him”__ _

__“Is he always this bossy?” Bruce asks, giving Tony a sideways look. It´s enough to make Tony smile. Some part of his mind whispers that he´s in shock, but he ignores it. It´s not the fun side of his mind._ _

__“It comes in handy sometimes. If I were you I´d tell him what he wants or he won´t stop nagging” Tony moves the phone back towards his face and walks out of the study, while Bruce, whose eyes are glowing in that eerie green, roams around the room. Through the line, Loki´s voice is complaining about how no one appreciates he´s trying to get Tony away from any possible jailtime. Tony blows a kiss into the phone, and the complaining stops abruptly. “Bruce?” he asks, when the ghost goes through the wall and stops next to him._ _

__“Nothing. There´s gunpowder from when he shot you, but the bullet is gone, and there´s no blood” Bruce shrugs. “I mean, if Clint and Kate fixed that broken tombstone, I figure the least I could do is avoid getting your prints everywhere”_ _

___“Ok, if that´s taken care of, this is what you´re going to do”_ _ _

__\--------_ _

__When Tony sneaks in through the back entrance to Pepper´s appartment, Pepper and Loki have already dirtied a third set of dinnerware with italian food leftover, and Pepper shoves him into the bathroom with a set of clothes while Loki makes a mess of their shared guest bedroom._ _

__Only after Tony´s come out, dripping and starting to come off his adrenaline high, Pepper dials the police for him._ _

__They´d rehearsed the story, deleted the calls from their phones, and gotten Peter1 away from his studies to deal with hacking into the phone company site and hiding the calls from their billing details, because they all agreed that a lower english grade was a fair price to pay for Tony not getting arrested._ _

__So when the police arrived to take their statement, Tony was fairly calm, albeit a bit tired._ _

__“Yeah I tried to call him officer” He repeats to the woman in uniform sitting across the coffeetable and the dirty dishes. “I was supposed to meet with him tonight, I went to his office this morning and he promised to call me to let me know he´d arrived and I could head there, but he never did”_ _

__“And you say you were here all afternoon, Mr. Stark?” The woman asks. She seems uninterested so far, but Loki made it perfectly clear that this was the stage to impress their innocence upon them. They didn´t suspect a thing, it was just a call from an overly concerned man about a busy old man that had probably turned his phone´s volume off and forgotten to turn it on again._ _

__“Having dinner and watching a movie” Tony nods. “My boyfriend turned in early to do some reading after dinner and I went into the guest room to change, I was there for a while before I noticed Obbie hadn´t called”_ _

__“Is your boyfriend still…” The officer begins to ask, but is interrupted by Loki coming out of the guest room dressed only in a loose shirt and boxer briefs._ _

__“Whoa” He says, stopping. His hair is mussed, he´s got pillow print on his cheek and a blossoming hickey on his neck. “No one told me we were having people over” he says reproachfully, glaring at Tony and Pepper, who shrug._ _

__“We called the police because Obbie wasn´t taking Tony´s calls” Pepper explains. Loki nods in understanding._ _

__“Ok, I´m gonna… Are we going to go check on him? Can I take a shower first?” he asks_ _

__The police officer´s eyes flick to Tony´s still damp hair, and she arches an eyebrow._ _

__“I did say I stayed at the room for a while” Tony gives her a sheepish smile._ _

__After his words, and another look at Loki, she seems to accept this as fact, because she rolls her eyes. “You can. I doubt this will be necessary, but I´m going to go check the address you provided with another officer, just in case Mr. Stane needs help”_ _

__“Can you tell him to call me when you find him?” Tony asks immediately “I guess it´s possible he just forgot, but just to be sure…?”_ _

__“Of course Mr. Stark” The officer nods “Have a nice night”_ _

__\--------_ _

__Loki goes back to Rochester two days later, after the first round of questioning. After all, he never really met Obadiah, and his only value in the investigation is to corroborate Tony and Pepper´s alibis. Besides, he´s got a really important soccer game to get to._ _

__Meanwhile, Tony actually has little to no problem playing the part of broken down, mourning relative._ _

__The nightmares begin soon enough. He´s the green mist creature again, and he´s crushing Obbie´s ribcage, caving his head in, shattering his bones until his body was barely recognizable._ _

__He thanks the heavens for making Pepper a reality, because the first night she finds him sitting in her living room at 4 am, staring at the wall with a ghostly Bruce watching over him, she guides him to her own bedroom and holds him until he falls asleep. Her presence doesn´t stop the nightmares, but it does make them easier to deal with._ _

__\--------_ _

__The next three months go by fast but feel like an eternity to Tony._ _

__Pepper never leaves him alone for too long and Rhodey, T´challa, Sam, Loki and the kids call nearly every night. No one asks how he´s doing, and he appreciates it, going along with their efforts to distract him._ _

__Through it all, Bruce is still there. Tony finds it a bit puzzling, because both Thor and Clint moved on pretty much immediately after their business had been solved._ _

__“Mine hasn´t though” Bruce responds calmly when Tony finally works out the nerve to ask him. “I never wanted revenge on Stane. I only did it to protect you. That was never what I needed and I´m… I´m so sorry it had to happen”_ _

__“Yeah, I am too” Tony agrees, and they say nothing more on the matter._ _

__Tony knows what needs to be done, what Bruce needs to move on, but to be frank he has no motivation to deal with it at the moment. With the major shareholder, CEO and head of the development team brutally murdered in what the police are starting to tentatively call an organized crime attack, the serum´s release had been solidly pushed back until they can get some ground under their feet._ _

__Worst of all are the memories._ _

__He takes to visiting his parents´ graves a lot, to talk to them. Maybe it´s something good that came out of this mess, that he´s got the opportunity and time to deal with this buried grief. And with the silent contemplation comes the thinking, the remembering._ _

__Looking back now, Tony despises how every single interaction he had with Obadiah feels completely different now. It seemed normal while he grew up, that Obadiah was busy, that he only showed enthusiasm for Tony´s interests if they were oriented towards technology and science, that he´d pushed him to skip grades and get to college as fast as he could…_ _

__Now Tony remembers that his engineering thesis was a prototype for an infrared scope rifle rather than the assistant A.I. software he´d had dreamed for his entire career, that Obadiah had pushed the damned gun into production despite Tony´s complaints, that he´d called Tony “Stark´s Industries´ golden egg goose” at the fucking launch party._ _

__That he´d whispered how he´d be welcomed back with open arms once this little adventure of his failed, when they hugged goodbye at the airport before Tony left for the East Coast._ _

__More than anything, this makes Maria and Howard´s absence hurt even more. That they thought they were leaving him with someone trustworthy, that Tony himself, well into his adulthood, had believed he´d been raised by an honest man that loved and cared for him, but that was only interested in whatever new killing machine he could force Tony to churn out._ _

__“I don´t know how you did it” He says one evening at the cemetery. Bruce´s lab coat is folded in his briefcase like always, and it doesn´t take long before his friend materializes next to him._ _

__“Do what?” the ghost asks, staring at the graves with eyes that seem both tired and wistful._ _

__“Forgive him” Tony replies. The words feel bitter in his mouth, like he´s betraying himself and Bruce and everyone just by considering the possibility of it._ _

__“Oh” Bruce shrugs, and comes to rest down on the grass with Tony. “At some point you just begin pitying him… He called me a lonely man, but it takes one to know one, right?”_ _

__Tony knows._ _

__\--------_ _

__They read the will on the first day of the fourth month, and Tony makes it as far as the first beneficiary._ _

__The words _“In the event of my death, Anthony Edward Stark will inherit my estate, monetary accounts and shares at Stark Industries”_ are barely out of the solicitor´s mouth before Tony´s slamming the door behind him._ _

__Pepper finds him at the hallway, staring out the window and gripping the edge so tightly his knuckles are white._ _

__“I don´t get him Peps” Is all he says when she´s within earshot. Pepper wraps an arm around his waist and lays her head on his shoulder. “I just… I don´t get it”_ _

__“Honestly Tony… I don´t think he got it either” she confesses after a few minutes, and her voice sounds stuffy as well. “I think he loved you. But in the end… In the end the rest of what he was, it was stronger”_ _

__It´s not the first time, Tony thinks, that love hasn´t been able to change what is._ _

___To live in the hearts of those we love is not to die._ _ _

__And Tony allows himself to break down there, to cling to Pepper and bury his face in her shoulder and weep not for the man that tried to kill him, but for the man he thought he knew._ _

__\--------_ _

__Tony doesn´t feel like a CEO when he assumes the position with the board of directors, or when he lets them know in no uncertain terms that the serum is not going into the market. Neither does he when he sells Pepper a good 12% of the company shares, or when he announces to the employees at large that the company is going to be taking a different direction._ _

__

__

__He first feels like the head of Stark Industries when he grabs his cell phone and shoots a text to Peter1._ _

__

__

_"Hey kid. Are you still interested in that internship?"_

__\--------_ _

__“It´s a bit sad that the kids won´t be here this time Tony says mostly to himself. The panoramic view provided by the ceiling to floor window´s always been enough to distract him, but today his mind´s set on something a little more important._ _

__“I think the kids will understand. It´s not like they´d be able to publish it anyways” Pepper replies from where she´s hanging a print of Van Gogh´s Sunflowers on the wall. She takes a step back to watch it with a critical eye._ _

__“It´s straight” Assures a third voice, and the desk chair with the old lab coat draped over the back spins around as Bruce materializes on it. “I still can´t believe you´re keeping his office. Doesn´t it feel weird?”_ _

__“At first it did” Pepper shrugs “Then think of how pissed off he would be if he found out I´m going to help Tony run this company _away_ from everything he ever wanted it to be, and it feels just about right”_ _

__Tony laughs “As you can see, Pep here is _not_ the revengeful type” he made his way to the desk. “So? Are you excited?”_ _

__“Nervous, I guess” Bruce says, and his form flickers a little. “I mean, no one knows what it´s like out there, only that there´s no coming back, not again”_ _

__“Thor and Clint looked happy enough to go” Tony reminds him. He watches the ghost carefully; Bruce´s form, even his fully manifested one, has been growing less and less visible as days go by since Obadiah´s death, as if he could feel his time in this world was coming to an end. “We could wait if you want though”_ _

__Pepper looks over with interest, and Tony stares at Bruce intently, as he traces a finger over the desk´s polished wood. It leaves behind a faint green trail that lasts a few seconds before dissolving in the air._ _

__“Wait?”_ _

__“Until you´ve said goodbye to everyone?” Tony offers. Bruce shakes his head, and becomes a few shades more translucent._ _

__“This ought to have been finished years ago” Bruce says. His voice sounds distant and a bit cracky, as if he were speaking through a faulty telephone. “It ought to never have begun, I daresay”_ _

__“We all make mistakes Bruce” Pepper sits on the corner of the desk and smiles kindly at the ghost. “They don´t define us. What defines us is what we do after”_ _

__Bruce shrugs again “I guess you´re right. I´m glad I got to stay, to be honest. Even if it was just to meet you” He looks down at the floor “You all made me feel more alive than I did back when I was still breathing” He adds in a low mumble_ _

__Tony feels his chest clench a little, with the reminder that he could´ve actually meet Bruce while he was still alive and kicking, that he could have somehow prevented his death… But it doesn´t matter now, he reminds himself. T´challa´s words come back to him. He´s doing right by them now, and that´s what matters._ _

__“So… Now?” Tony asks again. It feels entirely anticlimactic, he decides as he shoots a look at the open folder before Bruce, and the sheet that awaits his signature. That all it takes is a mere gesture, and this will all be over. After everything that happened, after all the drama during Thor and Clint´s passing on, this feels… tame. Maybe it fits Bruce, he thinks. The man deserves a bit of peace, and a lot of closure._ _

__“As good a time as any” Bruce says nonchalantly, but he flickers on and off seven times in a row, and Tony knows he´s more nervous than he wants to admit._ _

__Tony leans over Bruce´s shoulder to have better access to the document that decrees the Performance Enhancement Serum to be discontinued._ _

__“It´s been good, Brucie” Tony mutters. It´s for Bruce, but also for himself, and his hand shakes less when he picks up the pen and signs his name at the provided line. “You just saved millions of lives”_ _

__Bruce´s form, if possible, has become more translucent, and a soft glow is emitting from the left side of his chest, illuminating him from the inside._ _

__“I guess I did, didn´t I?” He says, as if even now he´s having trouble believing it. “Thank you Tony”_ _

__“I´m going to miss you, bud” Tony tries to pat his right shoulder, and is not surprised when his hand goes through._ _

__Pepper´s more delicate hand rests over the barely visible curve of Bruce´s left shoulder, and when they look at her she´s smiling with some kind of serene happiness._ _

__“Thanks for saving our idiot, Bruce” she says._ _

__“Best thing I´ve ever done” Bruce nods as the last of his form disappears, and his glow intensifies when he smiles. Tony wishes more than ever that they could´ve had longer, that Bruce hadn´t had to be alone in life. In death._ _

___To live in the hearts of those we love is not to die._ _ _

__Then, just like that, the light begins to fade as well._ _

__Tony and Pepper stand still and silent in the half decorated office, and Tony takes another look at the signed document before he breaks down with a bark of laughter._ _

__“What is it?” Pepper asks, leaning forward._ _

__Tony lifts the paper so that she can see, with a smile in his face and grief in his chest._ _

__“I used a blue pen”_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so hello everyone! This chapter is for those of you who didn´t lose your faith on me!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed Bruce´s chapter, because it was a right pain to write. I enjoyed the opportunity to dwelve deeper into Tony´s character though.
> 
> I´m sorry this chapter took so long, and that i kept saying it was coming over and over and then didn´t deliver, I promise I was working on it but wew... Life got super weird.
> 
> As always, kudos are appreciated, comments are cherished, if you liked it share it with your friends, if you didn´t share it with your enemies! Can you guess who the next chapter will deal with?


	4. Chapter 4

**4**

Turns out managing his own company _is_ a bore, but not nearly as annoying as he'd expected. Pepper's been, as usual, an angel with a steel spine and Tony hasn't missed a deadline or important appointment once.

As she puts it: the world is watching. Tony has to make it clear that he's the top dog now, and that this company is moving in the direction he's steering it towards. He can't make a mistake, can't expose his neck to be bitten, because they _will_ bite.

Of course they can't just get up and retire from the weapons market right a way; since Obadiah and the board had prioritized it over everything else, it's become the main income source for the company, but they're managing and their new intelligent assistant software is set to launch next month, marking the first time Stark Industries breaks into a new market in decades. To say the media's going crazy might be an understatement.

All in all, Tony decides, he's happy.

Sure, it might have been better if Bruce hadn't had to be murdered or forcibly pushed to the other side for this to happen, but if his ghosts have taught him anything it's that he can't change the past; he can only make the future right.

"I just can't believe they're so fixated on this" Tony groans one evening. A strongly worded letter from an elder member of the board of directors sits before him, letting him know exactly how disappointed both Howard and Obadiah would be if they could see what he's doing with their company "We were never "Stark n' Stane's Guns&Ammo", how could they lose track of that?"

Steve looks up from the research papers for the new machine gun Tony just rejected.

"War is a nasty business" he says solemnly. Natasha fades into view next to him, and Tony bundles up tighter in his jacket.

"But a good one" she says through sliced lips.

Tony wants to ask, he really does. It's pretty obvious that both Natasha and Steve had violent deaths, moreso than the rest of the ghosts, but...

None of them have expressed a desire or urge to pass on, and selfish as it might be, he's happy to let the issue rest. They're the only thing he's got left, and somehow the house feels colder with just two ghosts than it did with five of them.

"Hey boss!" A voice calls from the hallway, cracking the loaded silence between the three. Peter1 comes into the dining room and grins "Hey Nat, Steve! How's it going?" He asks

"Hello Peter" Steve greets warmly, and even Natasha cracks a smile. Tony rolls his eyes at them, but he's also smiling. Only a little. The kid is easy to like.

"How was school?" Tony asks. "Where are the wonder twins?" Because it's simply _weird_ to see him without them flanking him. Tony has pretty much surrendered to the notion that his house is now "the gang's house". He's stocked the pantry with snacks, there's a dog bed in a corner of the living room and a Nintendo Switch permanently set up at the TV.

"Their mom wanted to tell them something, they'll drop by later" Peter1 explains. "She sounded serious on the phone. I hope their dad is ok"

"Their dad the murderer?" Tony arches an eyebrow as he hands Peter1 a stack of already signed papers he's got to fax to Pepper. "I think he probably knows how to take care of himself"

"Eh, I'm more worried that he killed all his guards and is now somehow ruling the prison, and from what they said I think the twins are too" Peter1 shrugs with a smile, and leaves for the studio.

"That... That _is_ a worrying thought"

They work in a pleasant kind of silence, broken naturally every so often by either the living or the dead. Natasha watches over Tony's shoulders as he checks his emails, occasionally pointing out places and ways he can sound more aggressive, while Steve leans over the opposite shoulder and attempts to soften her efforts. 

After a few responded mails Tony leaves them to debate on whether or not the Hammer Inc. representative is being condescending or not, and goes to sit next to Peter1. He looks over some code he asked him to write, and finds exactly two mistakes in around seven hundred lines.

He doesn't even bother trying to hide the proud smile he's wearing as he ruffles Peter1's hair.

All in all, the moment feels extremely domestic, and Tony feels a little lightheaded when he goes to open the door after a soft knock calls his attention.

Wanda's standing outside the door, hands thrust in her pockets and eyes that look flat.

"Hey Red" Tony greets cautiously. "Are you ok?"

The teen doesn't move for a moment, as if thinking the question over, before she gives a single, slow nod. She looks up "Is my brother here?" 

It's the youngest Tony's ever heard her sound, and it douses over his warm, cozy mood as easily as rain over a campfire.

"He's not" he answers. Lying to her won´t do any good. "But we'll find him, come in"

The fact that Wanda comes in without a word or a look serves to underline the seriousness of the situation. 

So Tony pulls out his phone to shoot T'challa a text, Pepper even, when he finds he already got one, and the sender's name makes him arch and eyebrow.

_"I'm at the bookstore. Can I stay over at your place for a few days? I'll clean or something. Peter"_

Just as he's wondering whether or not to inform Wanda of this new development, a second text pings in, this time from T'challa.

_"Hey. He's alright, just very shaken. I made him text his mom to tell her he's ok, but he doesn't want to go home. I don't know what happened but can he stay with you?_

"Wanda" he calls, after responding to the two texts with an affirmative. The teen looks up from where she's sat at the couch, still looking a little lost. "Peter is alright."

"Where is he?" she asks immediately. Tony puts a hand up to stop her, when she makes to get up from the couch. He can feel Natasha fading into existence next to him, and draws strength from her. Some things are best kept secret, even just for a little while.

"He's alright" he repeats, voice as firm and calm as he can make it. "But he says he doesn't want to go home. Did something happen?" he asks, and moves to take a seat by her side.

Wanda doesn´t look at him. Doesn´t look at Natasha either, when she drifts through them both of them to float at her other side. “My dad is being transferred” she says after a silence that feels eternal. “To Manhattan. For good behavior” she says, and her voice breaks a little at the end in a way Tony´s not sure is a laugh or a sob.

“That´s good, isn´t it?” He asks. Peter1´s head is peeking out from the threshold, and he shakes his head in a silent signal. Peter1´s eyes shoot all over the living room and Tony just knows who he´s looking for. When he doesn´t find him, the teen dives back inside the room, probably to look for his phone. Tony returns his attention to Wanda. “You can visit him more often, if you want”

The girl nods slowly. “His last appeal went well. I think they´re starting to believe him when he says he didn´t kill the guys” she says. Her voice still feels dead. Her hand is cold when Tony makes a slow grab for it. “He might even get acquitted someday, this is a good sign”

“And you don´t want that?” Tony asks in a clear and controlled voice, and he finally feels like he´s stepping on firmer grounds because if Wanda is scared of her father, if Peter2 is so terrified of him he ran away from home, he´s going to use every single last lawyer Stark Industries has in its repertoire to keep the man behind bars for the rest of his life.

“What?” And now Wanda´s finally looking at him. There´s confusion in her eyes and Tony feels like the rug has been pulled from under his feet again. “No, of course I want him to be set free. He´s innocent” she declares, frowning “My dad is passionate but he´s not a murderer”

Huh.

“Then… Then I don´t see the problem? I´m sorry Red, but I need you to explain” Tony says. He hasn´t let go of Wanda´s hand, and she hasn´t made any attempt at taking it back so he assumes things are working out at least a little and she´s calming down.

“Peter doesn´t want him out” Instead of Wanda´s, it´s Natasha´s voice that brings the answer forward. “What about your mother?”

Wanda barely moves to acknowledge the ghost. “She doesn´t mind if he´s out or not. She doesn´t want him near her. But he loves us. He´s… He´s a good dad” she says, with much more tenacity than the situation requires. Tony wonders if it´s not the first time she´s had to repeat the argument this evening. “He loves us”

“I´m sure he does” He reassures her. “But Peter might not be ready for him to be so close to you guys” Tony tries, and he really, _really_ feels out of his depth here.

“He´s a stubborn idiot” Wanda declares, and shoots up to her feet. She´s exuding anger, it´s almost tangible, radiating out from her in hot waves. “I´m going home. If he shows up tell him he´s an imbecile and he made mom feel terrible.”

With that, she turns on her heel and stomps away. Tony hears her steps echoing heavily until the front door is slammed shut. Tony sighs and runs a hand through his hair, and counts to five in his mind,

Peter1 comes in on 3, with Steve trailing behind him.

“You know the story there?” Tony asks without much hope. Peter looks down at his hands.

“They don´t talk about it much.” Peter responds after a few minutes. “But I´ve talked with Peter about it”

This coerces a smile out of Tony “Of course you have” he looks up at the teenager. “Did you text him to come here?”

Peter1 nods and sits on Wanda´s empty spot, and Steve moves to mirror Natasha´s pose on Tony´s free side. The living, framed by the dead, none of them able to think of a way to fix this.

\------------------------------------------------------------------

_”And he´s staying there?”_

“Mhm” Tony nods, forgetting for a moment that Loki can´t see him “He came and went straight to the guest room. Peter1 was begging him to come out for a while, but eventually I just sent him home” 

_”And Wanda?”_

“Not a word” He sighs. “I´m going to let the kid rest for tonight, but I´m going to need an explanation tomorrow, and then… I don't really know what to do”

 _”That's ok. I don't think Peter knows what he wants you to do either"_ Loki sounds distracted _”You'll cross that bridge when you come to it”_

“Something else on your mind, handsome?” Asks Tony, because honestly, discussing the situation isn't helping him feel any better.

 _”Eh. It's just that I'm going over this week and I promised Balder I'd take him shopping and if Peter's staying in your guest room-”_ Loki interrupts himself with a scoff _”Nevermind, I just remembered you're rich. Have a second guest room ready for my brother will you?”_

Tony laughs “Sometimes I forget you're dating me out of genuine, selfless attraction and not because of my money, Sweetcheeks” it still feels weird sometimes, to say they're dating, but it no longer makes Tony want to flee the country, and he suspects the same goes for Loki.

 _”You're also good in bed”_ comes the smug sounding answer. Tony shakes his head, still smiling _”Wanna hear how good?”_ And Tony stops chuckling then because well, things seem to be going into a very _interesting_ direction.

“You know I like a good bedtime story” he replies, reaching lazily for the waistband of his jeans.

 _“You'll love this one”_ Loki purrs _”it's got a happy ending”_

\-----

“Peter, this is _not_ about rent” Tony repeats for what feels like the hundredth time, but Peter2 still won't look at him. “I need to know what's going on, if you need help-”

“I don't"

Tony wants to strangle the kid, but he gets a feeling Pepper would be disappointed if he did and that's always been a good moral compass for him, so he takes a deep breath.

“If Wanda needs help, then”

Peter2’s fists clench, but he's still not looking. “If she needed help I'd be there” he grunts out, and Tony can hear the hurt beneath the resentment “she's got dad, that's apparently all she needs"

“So you're… jealous of your dad?” Tony hazards a guess after a few seconds. Peter2 finally looks up then, indignant, and Tony counts it as a win. He grins “I'm going to keep guessing 'til I get it, so get comfortable”

“Please no. It's just-” the teenager groans, running a hand through his hair. The black roots are starting to show, and they make him look strangely young, like a kid that got messy with spray-on hair dye at the carnival. “You don't understand, Mr. S”

“I certainly don't" Tony agrees, far more patiently than he's feeling right now.

“My dad is a pain" he finally confesses. “He's just… he's always going on and on with his shit about- about being yourself and not letting others make you ashamed of what you are, and being proud of your differences and all that trash” Peter2’s gaze falls to the floor again, and Tony blinks a couple times while trying to process the information and double checking he got it right.

“Uh… listen kiddo, I'm not the most parent savvy adult…” Tony makes a pause and enjoys the amused snort that Peter gives. A victory's a victory. “But isn't that the sort of thing a dad's supposed to say? I mean… I think that was the main conflict in High School Musical, but I may have been reading it wrong”

And Peter2 finally, _finally_ laughs at that. For a second all the moodiness and hurt strips back, and he looks more like himself.

“Nah, you got it right Mr. S. It's just. The thing is-” he sighs “The thing is my dad doesn´t want me to be myself. He wants me to be him”

And wew, does Tony know _something_ about that.

“Like… he wants you to uh… murder someone?” he asks. Peter2 looks up dryly at him before rolling his eyes.

“I sure hope not. Besides, he probably killed the guys, but it wasn´t how they say it was” he says. “He´s an advocate of immigrant rights, and he was at a protest when a bunch of assholes from a neonazi group turned it into a riot” Peter explains “He reacted poorly because he doesn´t know how to do anything else, but the guys-”

“Had it coming” finishes a second voice, and Natasha manifests in all her bloody glory next to him on the couch. To Peter2´s credit, he doesn´t flinch or jump, merely looks at her with eyes that are way too tired and old to belong to a college age kid.

“Did they tho?” Peter2 asks. “I was going to say they weren´t innocent, but does anyone deserve being killed? I mean, that´s like getting down to their level, saying someone deserves to die because of what they believe in”

Natasha´s eyes turn hard, and she purses her lips.

“So you´re not at all thrilled to have him living closer to you?” Tony intervenes before Natasha can rip the teenager a new one. This brings Peter2´s attention back to him.

“Not really” Peter2 shrugs. Natasha´s looking past him now, to some point in the hallway. Tony doesn´t want to ask, if Nat needs a little distraction to not go Poltergeist on their asses, she can look at empty air for as long as she likes. “I´m alright with visiting him once a month, and even that is too much for me sometimes-”

“That´s a bit harsh, isn´t it?” Steve comes into existence on the kid´s other side, and Tony finches a little. Steve and his self righteousness can be hard to deal with in a stable mood, and Peter2 is not exactly in one of those right now. “I mean, he´s your father, he only wants the best for you and he loves-”

“What he loves is telling me what to do” Peter2 cuts the ghost dryly. “Every time we go to Washington is the same, why haven´t you changed your name, why are you speaking in English, I swear the guy wants me to get a Serbian flag tattooed on my forehead”

“There´s nothing wrong with being proud of where you´re from” Steve tries again, gentler this time

“But it isn´t alI that I am!” Peter2 snaps “Also it´s easy for you to say, isn´t it? You´re a white male american soldier that lived in America in the forties, what do _you_ know about being different?!”

Shit shit shit. Tony shares a look with Natasha through a very flustered Steve, and she gives him a shrug, her eyes till fixed on a spot behind Peter, before shaking her head. He decides to speak up despite her warning, because Steve´s looking increasingly agitated, with no words coming out of his mouth despite how much he tries, and he doesn´t know if Peter triggered something, but he doesn´t want another Thor.

“What about Wanda?” Tony asks then. If he knows anything about Peter2 is that the guy´s a sucker for his sister, and this ought to calm him-

“Ugh, she´s _all_ for this shit.” the kid groans “She thinks my dad is innocent, she thinks he´s right on all accounts, she won´t speak English in the house, she´s always getting on my case about my name, she-”

“Well, at least I´m not a fucking coward” and Tony flinches and freezes then, because Wanda´s standing at the threshold to the living room, and her eyes look fierier than her hair. “I´m not embarrassed of who I am”

Peter2 shoots up from the couch, and Tony´s hand hovers over his arm, ready to grab and pull if he attempts to move too harshly. “Wow, I didn't realize you were still dad's ventriloquist puppet" he spits out “It´s gonna be real fun to live with you now that he´s even closer to fill your head with crazy huh?”

“He just wants us to be proud of who we ar-”

“He wants us to be some sort of… racial caricature!” Peter2´s fists ball at his sides, and so do Wanda´s. Tony and the ghosts merely watch, entranced. “He only wants us to be ourselves if that´s who he wants us to be, not-”

“Слушај, Пиетро-” Wanda tries, face red, but whatever she´s going to say next is cut short

“Don´t call me that!” Peter2 screams. Tony wouldn´t have noticed if he wasn´t looking, but he _is_ , and he can see the moisture beginning to gather at the lower rim of the teenager´s eyes “You know I hate-”

Wanda screams right back “It´s your name, you _idiot_!” she takes a step forward, and Tony thinks he should stand between them, but both look equally furious, and he doesn´t know which he should face. “That´s what your problem is! You´re so desperate to have people accept you that you don´t even accept yourself!”

“Maybe I just want people to like me, not that you´d know about that!”

“Well, maybe people would like you more if you didn´t bend yourself backwards to please them” Wanda says, coldly. Her eyes are hard and distant now, and she´s shaking.

Peter2 scoffs "This is nothing like your... Your thing, Wanda." He says through clenched teeth. "It's just a name, and I hate it. It's stupid and weird and-"

“Пиетро је прекрасно име”

Everyone freezes and turns to Natasha, who´s looking at Peter with a soft smile in her sliced lips.

“... It´s not me though” says Peter2 after a second of silence, his gaze drifting to his shoes. behind him, Wanda scoffs, but Steve -who worryingly hasn´t talked again- pins her with a glare “I´m Peter… I just want to be Peter”

Natasha drifts up from the couch and floats next to Peter2. The way she cradles his face in her hands is outright motherly, and Tony wonders if there´s a story there. 

“You´re _also_ Pietro” she says “Your differences are not all that you are, but you should relish in them. They make you who you are, and you´re so incredibly lucky to have them that denying them is doing yourself a disservice” 

Tony waits for the blowout, Peter2 snapping, Natasha setting something on fire when her patience runs thin, but it never comes. Peter2 seems to sense something else in Natasha´s words, because he stares at her with wide, comprehending eyes.

“Who are you?” he asks in a faint, barely audible voice

“I was a number, and a code. Expendable, and replaceable, and my only value resided in the results I could get” She says, emphasizing the past tenses. Her expression turns harder then, sterner “Don´t deny your uniqueness, Peter. Believe me when I say it´s a luxury”

Peter2 stands there in silence, and eventually averts his eyes from her. Only then does Natasha turn to Tony, and her eyes look much older than the last time he saw them, even if it couldn´t have been more than five minutes ago.

“That´s all I ever wanted, I think. All I ever needed” she begins, and Tony notes with growing terror that her voice is growing fainter, as is her image. “Something that was my own” 

A second later she´s gone, and two bangs that are unmistakably gunshots make both Tony and Peter2 flinch.

Tony sighs.

“Can´t one of you finish having an identity crisis before the other begins?”

\-------  
Tony opens the door, and is so immediately assaulted by the sight of Loki that he has to chuckle a little.

He´s sipping on an iced green whatever from a cup with a Starbucks logo, and his eyebrow is arched delicately behind his dark aviator glasses. He´s sporting a choker that interrupts the white expanse of his neck, and his loosely knit sweater is artfully slipping off a pale shoulder, falling past his hips over tight black jeans.

No one looks that good after a fifteen hour bus trip, and Tony´s both giddy and entertained at this deliciously ridiculous show obviously put on to entice him.

Behind him and dragging a suitcase much too big to be his, is the kid from all those months ago at the park. His deep brown hair has gotten longer, and he´s looking around at the house´s front with a guarded expression, like he´s waiting for something to happen but doesn´t want it to at the same time.

Loki pointedly slurps on his drink. “I don´t know how it´s done here, but back in Rochester we invite people in when they come visit”

That startles a laugh out of Tony, and he takes a step aside. “In then, and forgive my atrocious hospitality” he teases. Loki walks past him and gives him a wink when their eyes met, before he´s followed by his brother and the ridiculously large suitcase. 

After watching him struggle at the threshold, Tony takes the handle from the kid, and closes the door behind them before guiding him to the living room, where Loki´s already lounging on one of the couches, sunglasses folded and hanging on his sweater´s collar to expose a few more inches of delicious skin.

Tony goes into the kitchen to get a glass of water for Balder, and finds him sitting on another couch, still looking around. He drops the water before him before going to sit next to Loki, when the kid finally breaks his self imposed silence vow.

"It doesn´t look like a haunted house" He says, stopping his looking around to actually look at Tony. 

Tony lifts an eyebrow “So he told you”

“I had to, he accused me of being cheap by having us stay here instead of a hotel, and I thought ghosts were a good compensation” Loki intervenes. Balder snorts under his breath, and Tony feels a careful sort pressure there. These are old grounds for both brothers, the teasing and playing, the simple fact of being together even, but it´s also new and unexplored, both because none are the person they were ten years ago, and because they're missing a crucial someone in their dynamic. It´s a testing of grounds, a prodding of a scarred wound to see if it´s healed already. 

Tony rolls his eyes and stretches up to kiss Loki's cheek.

"Nice to have you back sweetums" he says. Loki turns his head to pay him back with a kiss on the lips; he tastes of icy mint and chai, and Tony notices he feels perfectly content with life right now.

"Wait what!? He's your _boyfriend_?!" Balder is looking at them with wide eyes. Tony whips around to glare at Loki

"You said you told him!"

"About the ghosts, yes" Loki shrugs

"You told him about the _ghosts_ but you didn't tell him about me?!"

Loki shrugs again and climbs to his feet. He drops his drink on the coffeetable and walks around the couch, presumably towards his suitcase. "It was easier to believe. Besides, there's actual visual evidence of your ghosts"

"And if there is actual visual evidence of the other thing I _don't_ want to see it" Balder scoffs, arms crossed. Tony, much to his chagrin, finds that he's mimicking the boy's position and uncrosses his arms immediately.

"Yeah stay off the internet then, I haven't lived a great life"

"Loki!" Both Tony and Balder exclaim, and Loki's laughter can be heard from the corridor.

"... So... Hey" Tony clears his throat after a minute or so has passed in awkward, solid silence

"Yeah, no" Balder shakes his head. "It's too weird. Just... Thanks for helping Thor I guess?"

"Your brothers are a right piece of work. Please be the normal one?" Tony pleads.

Balder laughs, and Tony restrains the urge to fistbump the air. Winning over his young and impressionable brother in law can't be that hard, but it's a good start.  
\-----

The next day, Wanda and Peter1 visit.

It´s a tense affair, with Wanda and Peter2 not looking at each other, and Peter1 sitting between them in the couch looking like the world´s most uncomfortable potato.

“So… thanks for coming kids” Tony starts a bit awkwardly, fidgeting on the couch opposite them. “I know things are a bit difficult right now, but Nat´s having some ghost issues and I thought-”

“Peter and I got this” Wanda interrupts immediately. “We don´t need him” her chin jerks towards Peter2, who rolls his eyes.

“Real mature Wanda. And rich too, considering you don´t even give a shit about the vlog” he snaps back

“I care about people tho, which is more than can be said about you”

“I care about people” Peter2 snarls

“Just not your father?” Wanda leans over Peter1 to glare at her brother, who returns it in kind

“Well he´s made it perfectly fucking clear I´m not his son unless I act the way he wants me to, so I´m just going along with it!”

“Now _this_ is my kind of family reunion” Loki interrupts, walking into the living room. Tony hears the door close behind him, and after him walk T´challa and Sam, Redwing following dutifully in her owner´s steps.

“Sorry we´re late. We thought the situation merited food” T´challa offers, holding up the many chinese takeout containers he and Sam proceed to place on the coffee table.

Loki makes his way up to Tony, and sits on the couch with his legs draped over Tony´s lap. He then gives a short whistle, and Redwing´s ears perk up before she´s sprinting over to jump on Tony´s expensive couch, curling herself against Loki.

He arches an eyebrow at Sam, who shrugs.

“I don´t even know man, your boyfriend somehow retrained my dog in like… five minutes”

“I´ve got a gift for simple creatures” Loki smiles, rubbing both Redwing´s and Tony´s chin at the same time. Tony rolls his eyes but leans in for a kiss, much to T´challa´s amusement. 

“Could you not do that in public?” comes a groan from the hallway. Balder comes into the living room with a cup of soda and a majestic pout “You´re Loki, you´re not supposed to be cheesy and cutesy with whoever you´re sleeping with”

“I´m a multifaceted being” Loki shrugs “And if you mention this back home we´re going to find out exactly how many times I have to drive a car on top of your DS before we can sift it through a strainer”

“You do know you´re not remotely as scary when you´re cuddling with a guy and a dog, don´t you?” Balder shoots back before sitting on the only remaining armchair, and Tony arches an eyebrow at the kid´s guts.

“Is that so?” is all Loki says, with an arched eyebrow and a curve to his lips. Balder holds his stare for exactly three seconds, before sticking his tongue out at him and reaching for one of the food containers. Loki chuckles under his breath and lets go of Tony to squeeze both of Redwing´s cheeks and nuzzle her forehead.

Tony is most certainly not jealous of the dog.

“Well, in case you haven´t figured it out” Tony addresses the room in general, as they´d been watching the exchange in silence. “This is Loki´s younger brother, Balder. Balder, Sam and T´challa, Wanda, Peter1 and Peter2. One is a nerd and two is the personification of monster energy drinks, in case you need a way to identify each”

“A pleasure to meet you” say Balder, and Tony looks over at the cheeriness in his tone only to find that the kid is giving the teens an award winning smile. With dimples and all. Tony´s pretty sure the kid didn´t have dimples last time he saw him smile.

The teens stare in silence for a moment, until Peter2, as is his custom, breaks the calm.

“You look _way_ too nice to be related to Loki, I´m going to need DNA testing” he says

Balder chuckles, and even Wanda gives the kid a fond smile then.

“So you have a DS?” Peter1 gets off from the warzone couch and moves to sit on the arm of Balder´s seat “What games do you play?” he asks in a friendly and interested tone.

Balder blushes a little “Ah, I wouldn´t… I´m not really that good, I wouldn´t want to bore you”

“Well there´s a way to know!” Peter2 gets off the couch as well “Let´s take you to the arcade, come on!” he turns to his sister then, and silence falls thickly over the room as they wait for Wanda´s response, to see if she´ll take the olive branch.

Wanda´s stare is still hard when she looks back at her brother, but it softens when she turns to look at Balder, who´s fidgeting on the armchair.

“I don´t want to be a bother, you don´t really need to take me out…” he mumbles, looking down. Wanda´s lips curl into a smile, and she stands up.

“It´s worth a shot. If you get bored you and I can go shopping while these two spend their money there” she says, and Balder beams up at her. Tony wonders if the teens know they´re cooing over a rattlesnake hatchling.

Then, as they´re walking towards the door, Balder turns to wink an eye at Loki over his shoulder. Loki returns the wink, and Tony decides the only reason _he_ knows is because he´s been spending too much time with the grown rattlesnake.

“Well… at least they´re spending time together” T´challa speaks as soon as the door closes, reaching for one of the abandoned containers “Wanda and Peter I mean”

“Did you set him on to this?” Tony asks Loki, an eyebrow raised in suspicion.

“Excuse me?” Loki asks, playing with Redwing´s ears “My brother is an innocent baby angel, and I didn´t come here to fix teenager drama” Tony rolls his eyes and leans over to land a kiss on his nape.

“Can you give me my dog back?” Sam asks, pouting at the way Redwing is leaning 95% of her weight on Loki

“No can do soldier boy, she´s my girl now”

\-----

"I wonder if they talked" Tony says as he climbs into bed that night after brushing his teeth.

Loki wastes no time burrowing against his side and _shit_ why is he always so cold?! 

"According to my intel" Loki starts, placing his tablet on top of Tony's belly "They saw a magazine with their father's mugshot on the cover at the mall, got into a shouting match and Wanda left"

"Huh" Tony threads his fingers through Loki's silky hair. "Peter tried to sell it that Wanda had gotten a call from her boyfriend and gone home" he musses to himself. "Also your intel? You mean the innocent baby angel?"

Loki shrugs “Didn´t say he was blind deaf or mute” 

“So what´s in it for him?” Tony asks “Just the visit to the city?”

“Mostly, yes. He also wanted to see the ghosts” Loki flips through his tablet “And I´m sorry to say your ghosts have been awful entertainment so far”

“I´ll let them know to up their game” Tony chuckles, but sobers soon enough “I… Wish they were ok though. Nat hasn´t spoken to me in a while, I think she can only speak Russian now, and Steve hasn´t showed up since the talk with Peter”

“It´ll work out” 

Tony sighs and leans back on the bed. He feels Loki´s eyes on him, and brings out what´s been bothering him.

“Will it though? I mean, eventually they´ll leave too”

The silence stretches for a while, before it´s broken by Loki´s own sigh. He pulls himself up to rest against Tony instead of partially over him, tablet forgotten.

“People always leave. Doesn´t mean we can´t enjoy it while they´re here”

Tony remembers then, that this man lost both his brother and ten years of his life trying to escape said death.

He feels his lips curl into a soft smile.

“Aren´t you full of wisdom?”

“You might be onto something there”  
\----

"I presume you're doing nothing of importance" says Loki's voice, and Tony looks up. Surprisingly though, the snide remark is not aimed at him but at Peter2, whom Loki has plopped himself next to on the couch. 

The kid's face is as confused as Tony feels, and he looks sideways at Balder. Balder shrugs without looking up from where he's releasing a blue shell to go hunt for Peter1's character on online Mario Kart.

"Uh... I'm not? I was just watching TV, why?" Peter2 frowns

Loki studies his right hand's nails, his left gracefully curved around the foot of his wineglass. "It's come to my attention that you're in sore need of advice from someone who's got actual life experience"

Oh shit.

As Tony expected, Peter2's expression sours. Wanda and him weren´t exchanging verbal punches anymore, after their afternoon with Balder, but the air between them was still tense and fragile, and he still refused to talk of his father or go back home.

"Why should I take any advice from the trainwreck of a guy who abandoned his grieving family and went on a self destructive journey through America?" He sneers. Tony feels Balder stiffening next to him, and he lays a hand on his shoulder before turning to see how Loki's coping.

Then he remembers Loki's not Steve, and he won't be cowed or made uncomfortable by Peter2's angry lashes.

"First off, it's offensive to me that you think the mere concept of country borders is enough to stop Loki Borson. My self destructive journey was international, but America has the best opportunities for that kind of lifestyle so I came back" Loki remarks before he takes a sip of his wine. "Second off, you're mooching off my man's generosity while you hide your pathetic ass from your mother, father and sister, and the cost of that is having to listen to me be self righteous"

"I literally cannot think of anything I'd want less right now" Peter2 rolls his eyes "And I'm not short of options lately"

"Poor, poor Peter" Loki lays an ankle on the opposite knee and leans back on the couch's back rest. "Now, know that I literally don't give the slightest damn about your sob story, so if you're fearing a pep talk you can relax"

Tony's still watching, his stomach in a knot as he observes the tense interaction.

"... Can I say no anyways?"

Loki smirks behind the glass. "You can, but I have procured your mother´s number and I can have her here in around..." he looks at his cell phone screen “ten minutes? sounds accurate, for a woman with a runaway son”

Peter2 looks at Tony with doubt in his eyes, and now it's his time to shrug. Finally, Peter2 sighs and turns back.

"Tell me aaaaaall about your extremely difficult life, Loki. Were the cocktails a cheap brand of rum? That one guy who picked you up on the interstate wouldn’t buy you cigarettes?" The sour barb of Peter2's comments though, finds no purchase in Loki's carefree attitude.

"It´s happened, but I survived. No, I want to talk about Thor. And me" his voice is a bit strained, but Tony doubts Peter2 noticed.

"What's Thor got to do with anything?" Peter2 rolls his eyes "or you for that matter? This is about me"

"Sure" Loki concedes, running the pad of a finger along the wineglass rim "nothing to do with your sister. Or her relationship with your father. Or yours" he lists 

"Shut up" Peter2's tone is warning, but Loki doesn't back down

"Stop me if you've heard these before... Wait no actually, stop me if you _haven't_ heard these before, especially from the therapist your mother hired after your father got convicted for murder"

"Listen, I-"

"It feels like no matter what you do, your father wants you to do more?" Loki speaks over the kid's voice like some sort of verbal steamroller "like your sister is just inherently better at _existing_ than you are, at least the way he sees it? Or like doing what you actually want to do instead of what he wants you to do is a personal affront to him?"

When Peter2 speaks again, his fists are balled by his sides, and his face has lost color. "Speaking from experience?" He asks, voice shaking

"Well yes" Loki replies, looking very happy Peter2 finally caught his meaning "this is what the entire talk was about you idiot"

Peter2 blinks. Tony blinks too. He also sees Balder turn off his videogame out the corner of his eye, and he squeezes the kid's shoulder again, when he notices he never really took his hand off it.

"I'm not following" Peter2 starts to say “like sure, Thor was the favorite kid, I can see why”

“Right? I couldn´t though” Loki´s not looking at the teen now, instead staring into the swirling depths of his wineglass. He doesn´t even sound petulant anymore, just… Tired. Like he´s seen this before, and it´s a fond memory but also a painful one “I tried everything Thor did, because my dad was a sucker for it, and I mean _everything_. Track team, volunteer work, fucking baseball-”

“You played baseball?!” Balder interrupts suddenly, and he looks so surprised by the sound of his own voice Tony thinks he´s been holding back in everything he´d been wanting to ask, but this just crossed some sort of line in his mind.

Loki´s face contorts into a rictus of pain “The only unflattering photographs of me that ever existed are from my baseball phase and it´s the one sin I will never forgive dad for. Now don´t interrupt me” Tony decides at that very moment that he will pay whatever it costs to get his hands on those pictures. Loki takes a calming breath, before seemingly regaining his wits and returning to Peter2 “Anyways, I hated it. All of it. How did you like being little Wanda´s bootleg copy?”

Peter2 has begun to fidget, as is his custom when he´s been still for too long. Then his eyes lower to avoid Loki´s, and he nods. 

“Thought so. It never really is enough, you know?” Loki shrugs “I know it wasn´t in my case. That´s when I decided if my dad wanted to be disappointed in me, I´d give him a damned good reason to be. I started a major in History, I began doing drugs and dating the kind of people you avoid on the street, the whole nine yards" Loki reminisces with an amused smile, and lets his voice trail off

"... And you discovered that doing things to spite your dad wasn't making you happy and you ought to change?" Peter2 offers, and Loki seems to snap back to reality and let's out a bark of laughter.

"Kid I fucking loved it" he replies after he's done "not everything, of course. Some of the people I dated were real douches, drugs are a bad investment and neon highlights are _not_ my style, but most of it? It was great. At some point I realized I wasn't doing that shit to piss my dad off, I really liked it"

Tony seriously thinks of intervening then, because he likes Loki he really does, but telling a kid to go date criminals and do drugs is probably not responsible. Probably.

"So your... Advice? Is to do whatever my dad hates and I will find something I love?" Peter2 asks and god is Tony _happy_ he's not the only one that's not entirely getting the point of the story.

"My advice is fuck it Peter" Loki corrects delicately "your dad is living his life, with all his own choices. He cannot live yours, you can't allow him that. If Wanda is happy being the way she is then great for her, she's probably not doing it to spite you, I presume Thor wasn't" his eyes drift upwards then, a brief speculative look at the heavens that Tony finds himself snorting at "but you've got to do your own thing. Your dad will like it or not, but he's not you, and he cannot make you've him"

"That's- that's what I've been telling everyone!" Peter2 snaps, face contorted in a mask of indignation. 

Loki tsk's and pats his head "Are you buying it though? Because all of this is pretty moot if you do your own thing but still want daddy dearest to give you a gold medal" he says. Peter2's cheeks redden a little. Loki pats the kid again, this time on the shoulder, much softer and less condescending "the only person you can make happy is yourself Peter. Not your dad, not your sister. You can't be the Peter your dad wants any more than I could fix Thor's death by trying to ruin my life. In the end..." His voice wavers a little, and Tony notices he's being extremely careful about making eye contact with Peter2's forehead. "In the end I was the one who lost all those years I tried to be the dead son instead of him, and for all I don't regret it, I'm never getting them back. Think about that for a while"

The silence that blankets the living room after Loki stops talking and diverts his gaze back to the remnants of his wine is thick, heavy and loaded.

"You certainly know how to cheer someone up huh?" Peter2 says finally, after what feels like an eternity. His voice is a bit strained and he doesn't lift his eyes, but his shoulders seem less tense, and for once his hands are shaky for something other than his stupid energy drinks. "I see why Mr. S keeps you around"

Loki chuckles "Nah kid, that's a whole other story"

Hearing the conversation turning towards him brings Tony back to his senses, and he blurts out the thought that's been plaguing him for a while now.

"... You studied History?"

Loki arches an eyebrow at him, and even Peter2 looks up at that. "I did. Why is it-"

"I'm dating a _nerd_?!" Tony leans back on the couch's backrest, pinching the bridge of his nose "this is not happening..."

Balder squeezes his forearm empathetically. "He's the biggest nerd. I thought you knew"

"Excuse me?!" Loki's flustered voice comes from the other side of the coffee table "you're an _engineer_ , if anyone is a nerd in here-"

"He has a travelling blog where he talks about the history of the places he visits" Balder interrupts his brother "it's super boring"

" _How the FUCK did you find that?!_ " Loki exclaims over the sound of Peter2's slightly wet sounding laughter.

"You used a pun of your name for the title, that's how" 

Tony snaps back to a sitting position "Not a pun man" he tells the kid, trying to find some stability from the turn his life has taken. "Don't do this to me"

Balder looks back at him with genuine sympathy in his brown eyes. "Low-key Homeless"

Tony groans and buries his face in his hands.

"I hope you didn't unpack because I'm putting your ass on the first bus back to Minnesota you little prick" he hears Loki, and looks up enough to see him standing on all his blushing, sputtering rage.

"Leave the kid alone, he had my best interests at mind" Tony sighs "just... Please don't tell me you specialized in something like I don't know... The subjectivity of horse renditions in cave painting"

Balder chuckles by his side, and Tony smiles. He winks an eye up at Loki , who's still looking like a particularly disgruntled bird.

Loki rolls his eyes and picks up his wineglass "You're a bunch of uncultured swine and I need more wine to deal with you" he says, heading into the kitchen. His voice drifts back to them "And for your information, asshole, my master's is in the Cold War period in Eastern Europe, an extremely-"

"Extremely intriguing period in an extremely interesant region that's been washed out of our nation's history books" Balder completes with the air of someone who's been corrected way too much on the matter.

Tony chuckles, and offers the kid a high five. What better way to bond with your brother in law than teasing your boyfriend?

Then the meaning of the words catches up with him, and he's running to the kitchen as fast as his legs will carry him.

\-----

"So... Was it bad?" Tony asks, voice barely a whisper.

Half of his laptop screen is set to a Google translate tab. The other half sports a very official looking and sounding document that declares with no space for uncertainty that the Soviet Union never used child soldiers, and that the very suggestion is unsavory and crude.

Across the table is Natasha, looking at him over the laptop screen with her bloodshot eyes, the gunshots in her forehead dripping a steady flow of blood down her marred face.

The keys on his laptop press down by themselves, and words appear on the translator.

 _"It was all I ever knew"_ she types _"Sometimes I remember my mother."_

Tony's heart breaks a little more. He has to ask though, because Natasha talked about this, because this is Nat and not whatever they tried to make of her.

"Was she nice? Did she look like you?"

 _"She did, but her hair was black. She loved braiding mine in pigtails."_ she says, and Tony can almost see her, face clean of blood and pain and age, a girl laughing with two red braids framing her face, thriving with love and so far from the truth of the story. _"She called me Natalia, and she taught me how to dance"_ and then, after a pause _"I don't remember her name"_

"I'll find out for you" Tony says immediately, and Natasha's eyes light with gratitude. It's an expression he's never seen in her, and it makes her look younger. Innocent. "What did you dance?"

 _"With her? I only danced to dance, and to make her smile"_ Nat types _"Once they took me in, they taught me ballet. I could dance for hours, until it was time for lights off. I remember one the handlers once gave me a magazine page. It had a ballerina on it, doing a grand jeté. I think it may have been my birthday"_

Tony wants to puke.

Instead, he switches from the document to a YouTube window, and types quickly. Soft, cheery music begins to bleed from the computer's speakers.

"Wanna dance Nat?"

\-----

The tile work in the kitchen is top quality. It's stainless, it doesn't catch any odors, and it looks amazing. It also reflects light with the intensity of a fucking lighthouse, so Tony doesn't bother to flip the switch when he walks in at four in the morning a week after the conversation with Peter2. They just need coffee anyways, and he could probably make his way to a coffeemaker hog-tied and blindfolded if he were dropped in the midst of a South American jungle, so sight is not important.

"Hey" until Balder's voice comes from a spot near his shoulder and Tony has to thank these two years of dealing with people who can appear out of thin air for his self control, or the kid would be short a few teeth by now. “I ate some of the leftovers. Is that ok?”

“Yeah I mean, I wasn't gonna eat them probably, not in a few days” Tony responds. He grabs the coffee pot and begins the measuring-brewing-serving process, familiar to him as breathing. “I didn't know you were awake. Wanna stay down here? We think we're close to finding something”

As his eyes adapt to the darkness, he can see Balder's freckled nose wrinkle. “Are you cuddling?”

“... No”

The kid’s deadpan stare would make Loki proud, Tony's sure of it. 

“Just a little"

“I think I'll go back to sleep” Balder says in a tone of voice that Tony's brain immediately translates to mean ‘eugh, this idiot’ and he chuckles

“What can I say? Haunted houses are cold, kid” Tony turns to grab two mugs from the cupboard 

“... Hey?” Comes from behind him. 

“Yeah?” Tony stays still, because Balder sounds much less like the teenager that's been hanging at his house the last week and more like the child Loki cradled at the foot of Thor’s coffin.

“... You really like him, right? Like for real” Balder mutters

Tony finds that the answer is already on the tip of his tongue. “I do”

“Because… I think he likes you too” after Balder speaks there's a bit of fidgeting, and Tony waits patiently for the next part. “If uh… if he moves in with you… will you make sure he visits?”

There's silence then, the only sound in the kitchen the steady drip of the coffeemaker, and the breathing of this child who's had to learn how to let go so early in his life.

“I don't think he's gonna be done with you anytime soon kid” Tony says slowly, as if trying not to disturb the peace

“That's good” comes Balder's equally soft response “I'm… I don't think I'm ready for… it was really bad, last time. For my parents, I mean” he adds quickly.

Tony stays silent until the coffeemaker beeps to let him know the coffee is ready. He hooks both handles in one hand, and stops for a moment next to Balder.

“I think he's doing his best buddy" he says, ruffling the kid's hair “Let's have a little faith”

He's only handed the mugs to Loki and fit himself against him on the couch, when Loki's phone pings with a message. Loki hands him the mugs back to check it, and he arches an eyebrow.

“Did you talk with my brother?” He asks

Tony shrugs “He was in the kitchen. Why?” 

Loki turns the phone's screen towards him, and Tony chuckles, embarrassed. 

_”Your boyfriend is a huge sap”_

\-----

 _"So what have you got?"_ Pepper finally asks. Tony shifts the phone to his other ear and keeps typing.

This is some of the most complicated encrypting he's ever encountered, but so had been the one protecting the first batch of documents he'd found. This wasn't going to stop him.

"Natasha was a part of some sort of program called the Red Room." he explains. Out the corner of his eye, he sees Loki's pale hand take away his empty mug of coffee and replace it with a fresh one. "They renamed it later to R2 I think, but it's basically the same shit"

 _"And what is this shit?"_

"It's... Not child soldiers?" Tony pinches the bridge of his nose and runs the code once more "they took little girls from villages all over the Soviet Union and trained them until they were of age, then used them as spies"

 _"... How did you come by this information again?"_ he can hear Pepper typing, probably trying to verify his data. _"I'm not finding anything about this online"_

"Yeah, about that..."

 _"Is it super illegal or only slightly illegal?"_ Pepper sounds resigned, and Tony finds that he can't even be offended by that

"Depends on how high on that spectrum you consider hacking into the Russian Government Archives"

There's a second of silence, and then a prolonged sigh comes through the line.

_"Do I need to prepare the lawyers?"_

Tony frowns at the screen "I'll tell you in a second..." And then the window running his code is relegated to the background, replaced by a window with close to six hundreds folders. The Red Room program's records. Tony smiles, pleased. "Miss Potts, we're in"

_"Wonderful, I'm proud. Please get out quickly"_

"Peps I live with Natasha, I have a healthy fear of Russian people" Tony assured her. There's a folder titled 'Assets', and he clicks on it right away. Then he freezes.

There are ninety two folders inside.

They're all named simply 'Asset_' and a number, and Tony feels his hands begin to shake.

 _"Tony? Did you find something?"_ Pepper's voice brings him back momentarily.

Ninety two little girls.

Ninety two little girls that could _sometimes_ remember their mothers.

"I... There's too many girls Peps" he says into the phone. His voice cracks a little, and he's not sure if it's rage or sorrow, at this point.

 _"Just copy the files and get out Tony, come on!"_ she urges, but Tony can't do it, can't move even when he knows every second he stays in the site increases his chances of getting caught.

Then his laptop brings up a search tab all by itself, and types a number up. A folder is immediately highlighted.

Asset_61

Another window pops up, this one informing him of the file being copied into his hard drive, and when he finally snaps into action, closing the site and going through a few IP-disguising trickery after the file has finished copying, he looks up to find Natasha, standing by his side and staring down at him.

His throat feels dry, but he forces the words out. He has to.

"There were so many of them"

Natasha nods, and Tony sees a single tear slide down her cheek.

\----

"Morning" two voices say in unison, and Tony's forced to stop and retrace his steps back to the living room.

There's a switch hooked up on the screen, Peter1 and Balder are sitting on the couch and a pair of Pokemon are beating the _absolute_ shit out of each other.

"... Morning?" Tony greets dubiously. "Peter did you go home last night?"

"We marathoned Star Wars" Peter1 says as means of explanation, without taking his eyes of the screen "Sorry"

"Nah it's ok, I just... How's uh... Peter?" 

Both shrug at the same time.

"He's speaking to Wanda again, but I don't know if he's going back home. We decided to let them fix it themselves, and just hang out" says Balder. "Peter says I can be in the next episode of the vlog"

Tony rolls his eyes "Let me tell you kid, it sounds great on paper but then you're swimming out of your living room"

\----

_Asset_61_

_Civilian name: Natalia Romanova_

_Date of birth: October 26,1947_

_Date of recruitment: May 12, 1954_

_First assignment: August 9, 1963_

_Basic training score: 96%_

_Dominant skills: Asset possesses above average charisma and intellectual coefficient. Displayed highest marks in survival training and close ranged combat trials._

_Languages learned: Russian (native), Polish, Serbian, French, German, English_

_Active asset: Yes_

_Reliability status: Uncompromised_

_Codename: Black Widow_

_Status: Deployed (January 15, 1968)_

_Current location: United States of America  
_

Also included in the folder are two image files.

The first one is of a girl, six or seven years old at most. Her hair is neatly combed back from her face, she's wearing a crisp dark colored dress and there's a haunted expression in her eyes.  
Her tiny fists are balled by her sides, and her whole posture is slightly hunched.

The second is a young woman, her hair much longer but still held back from her face, and wearing a larger sized dress. Her hands are behind her back, and she holds herself as ramrod straight as a soldier called to attention.

Her eyes have no expression at all.

\-----

"This is fucked up" Sam slides the printed paper across the table, and T'challa picks it up. "Her first assignment was at sixteen. Sixteen man, she was a girl!" He snaps, frustrated.

Tony nods. He feels tired. "There were ninety two of them"

"Are we... I mean" T'challa clears his throat. He's put the prints back on the table and pushed them away from him, as if he had no desire to even accidentally brush against them "We have to tell someone"

Next to Tony, Loki lets out a sour bark of laughter that has Redwing´s ears perking up and the dog herself running to his side, tail wagging. "Tell what to who?" He asks, scratching behind her ears "Hey UN, our friend here hacked the Russian government and we think the Soviet Union used child soldiers during the cold war. We have some prints"

T'challa glares at him "Well of course it sounds ridiculous when you put it like that but-"

"By all means rephrase it to sound less ridiculous. I'm waiting" Loki crosses his arms and leans back on his chair.

Tony rubs a hand down his face"Cut it off. I've... I've been thinking of how we can give this information to someone actually, but-"

“We shouldn´t” Sam´s voice speaks with such finality that the three of them turn to look at him.

“What?” Tony frowns “Sam, I´m pretty sure this is a war crime and-”

“It is. Like trust me, it is” Sam sighs. “But the chances of it happening in these times, are very low, at least the way it happened here… People would speak up. They have been, against similar things, and some action is being taken” he explains

“.. So we should stay quiet because people have Twitters now?” Loki arches an eyebrow. Tony sees T´challa turn to look at him and relax after he finds no trace of hostility in the question.

Sam shakes his head “I… Some of these women might still be alive” he says “The program disbanded in the eighties, they´ve been living their own lives ever since. If we bring this out, if we shine a light of it we´ll need witnesses, testimonials, and… It´s unfair. It´s unfair for these women, to have the memories thrust upon them when they´ve finally managed to escape them, to have them go back when they´ve spent decades running away”

After a moment, Loki nods once. He pats Redwing´s neck, and the retriever leaves his side to go rest her head on Sam´s thigh. Sam buries his fingers in her fur, silent. T´challa´s hand comes to rest lightly atop his, not grabbing but merely making contact.

Tony clears his throat. “Right. Let´s not do that then” and he gets up to brew some tea because Bruce might have been a mega nerd, but his calming methods at least worked.

\-----

The next morning, Peter1 and Wanda come by, and Peter2 deigns coming out of his bedroom, where he´s been bunkered in for days now.

“I thought we could film some stuff” says Peter1. “Not to post it, if you guys don´t want to tell anyone about the Red Room, just to record it? I thought Natasha would like to tell how she died?” 

Before Tony can respond -and his response was mostly going to be to congratulate Peter1 for having the tact to not bring this up when either the high schooler or the PTSD diagnosed soldier were around- Natasha herself materializes next to the teenager.

“радије не бих” she says, and even though Tony can´t understand the language, the dryness in her voice is recognizable

Wanda frowns “But why not?”

Natasha shakes her head. “Не кроз тебе” she says simply, then adds “Није ни битно”

Wanda´s face softens in response, and Peter1 looks at her in confusion.

“What was that?” he asks.

“She says she does not want me to see it” she explains “And that it´s not important”

Peter1 looks scandalized.

“Not important?! Isn´t that why she´s here in the first place, to like… Solve the issue of her unfair death?” and Tony has a moment of fondness for the kid. Ever the scientist-in-the-making, Peter1 is focusing only on the objective -if there can ever be objectiveness when dealing with ghosts- root of the problem.

“It isn´t” Peter2 says. He´s looking at Natasha even as everyone looks back at him quizzically. “I had a dream the other night. It was you right? It was real” he asks. Natasha nods once, slowly, and Peter2 lets out a long breath. 

“Wait what? You… you had a vision?” Wanda asks. Her face is strangely hopeful, and Tony chalks it up to another weird sibling thing he´ll never be able to understand.

“It wasn´t like yours” Peter2 corrects her, looking back at her. “It was… I saw it like in a movie. It didn´t happen to me. One of her contacts blew her cover. She was… I don´t know where they took her, it was a white room, with tiled walls and a drain in the floor.”

Tony winces. This certainly explains why Peter2 looks like he hasn´t slept in two weeks. It can´t have been a pleasant dream.

“Then what happened?” asks Peter1, and Tony gives him another metaphorical cookie because he has the good taste to not be recording this. “They killed her?”

“They tried to make her talk first, but she wouldn´t. She didn´t” Peter2 looks back at Natasha, and there´s a spark of admiration in his eyes “They killed her after a week, because they couldn´t get anything out of her”

Peter1 lets out a low whistle. “And _that_ is not important?” he asks “What is, then?”

“She is” says Wanda suddenly.

Natasha´s gored mouth curls into a smile. “Паметна мала вештица, твој брат је поносан на тебе”

Wanda looks at Peter2, so Tony guesses whatever Natasha said had something to do with it?

He rubs the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable. At least in matters related to the supernatural, it´s always been Wanda who takes the lead.

“I think I figured it out, but uh… I could use a hand” he says

Tony and Peter1 stare in silence as Wanda nods and the twins stand up and march out of the living room, and then Natasha speaks again before dissipating.

“Пропустићу те две”

“... You don´t happen to know Serbian do you?” Tony asks, and Peter1 gives him a perfect deadpan stare. He´s learned good. “Figured. Wanna go meet with Loki and Balder at the mall?”

\-----

It´s been a while since he´s been to the bookstore, and Tony relishes the quiet and emptiness of the place, especially since his house has become a fucking bed and breakfast.

“I´m pretty sure that´s like… pretty close to being over” says T´challa after he voices this thought.

“Huh?” Tony arches an eyebrow, and T´challa pulls out the chair next to his.

"Peter visited his dad yesterday" he explains. His mom sent me a thank you text"

"What?!" Tony feels a surge of righteous indignation. "He's been freeloading at my house for three weeks and _I wasn't the first person he told about this?!_ "

"Could you not make a whole big deal about this?" Peter2's voice snaps behind him, and Tony realizes he never even heard the bell in his completely justified indignation. When he turns to give the kid a dry glare, he looks... Young. His cheeks are slightly flushed, and his hands are thrust deep in his pockets, but he carries himself lighter than he has in these past weeks. "You went out with Loki last night and you weren't home this morning, when was I supposed to tell you?"

"Did you forget how to text? Do you need to see a doctor?" Tony asks, voice dripping with sarcasm. Something in his mind is telling him he sounds like Pepper, but he ignores it. Peter2 rolls his eyes and sits across the table.

"I talked to him" he says only, and it's enough to reduce Tony's frustration to nothing. 

"... Did it go well?" Tony asks carefully, and Peter2 shrugs.

"It went... Better than other times" he says "He wasn't happy about what I had to say but... Ok, don't tell Loki I said this, but he was right"

"Those words are not leaving this room" Tony promises solemnly "his head is big enough as it is"

"Says the kettle of his pot" T'challa mutters with a chuckle, and Tony elbows him on the side. That at least brings a smile out of the teen.

"He... Won't be happy with anything I do, but he's never been happy. And I'm pretty sure it doesn't mean he doesn't love me, or that he doesn't wish I was different but-" he swallows, and when he looks up at them there's an old sparkle back in his eyes. "But I'm not. And I've got like four thousand followers on Twitter so who I actually am can't really be that bad right?"

Tony, with his three million followers, nods solemnly. "So you'll be going back home? Not that I'm kicking you out or anything"

"Yeah... I've got to apologize to my mom but... Thanks for everything Mr. S." The kid's fucking words are loaded with emotion, and Tony looks away. "Really"

"Anytime kid" he chokes out, reaching across the table to squeeze Peter2's shoulder. "Anytime"

\---

“I… hope you have a pretty good explanation for asking us all to congregate on my backyard” says Tony after Peter2 and Wanda finally come out of the house. He´s not too bothered, not really. It´s sunny and breezy, and he has a hand around a cold can of beer and the other on Loki´s waist.

“We do, promise” Peter2 assures him, placing a closed casefile box on the ground. Wanda lifts the lid and begins rummaging inside. “We thought of something that might work for Nat”

“Peter thought of it” Wanda says pointedly from her place by the box. Peter2 blushes.

“It's uh… well, she…” he seems to be struggling with his words, and for all that the kid is all about drawing attention to himself, Tony finds himself thinking that he’s not used to actually having it. “She wanted something of her own. Something that was hers and hers alone"

Tony flinches when Wanda pulls out a garden trowel and behind desecrating his garden. Of course there had to be gratuitous property damage. His property, to be exact.

“But this is not her” Peter2 begins speaking again. Tony and the others move closer to see he´s holding the printed picture of teenaged Natasha, and a lighter. “This is what they tried to make of her”

Tony feels the atmosphere change as soon as the lighter strikes and the flame catches. It feels loaded, and he can see Natasha´s reddish mist blurring into existence. He bends to drop his beer can on the ground, and so does Sam. Balder has closed his DS and stuffed it back in his pocket.

They watch the picture burn and the ashes fall to the ground even as Wanda digs it, moving the dirt around and mixing it with them.

“And this is not her either” Peter2 kneels next to Wanda, and pulls out the picture of child Natasha. Even Redwing is uncharacteristically immobile, as the lighter catches again. “This is what they took from her”

By Tony´s side, Loki lets out a low whistle. “So kid knows how to talk huh? Who knew” and Tony looks across the group to T´challa, who grins back. Both of them remember what was said at the bookstore, and the pact to not tell Loki remains strong.

Wanda´s done digging by the time the second picture is done burning down to nothing, a rectangular, shoebox sized hole in the middle of the grass. The real Natasha is fully manifested and floating above the hole curiously. Tony hears Balder swallow heavily, and he realizes this is the first time he´s ever seen her real form.

“We… This is her” Peter2 speaks for the third time, and he reaches inside the box.

He pulls out a doll, made of soft cotton, with bright red yarn hair pulled into a bun, and green button eyes. She´s wearing an off white leotard with a tutu, and white ribbons tie around her feet to create the illusion of ballet shoes. Even from a few steps away Tony can see the shoddy stitching in both doll and clothing, and he realizes what Peter2 had been doing behind closed doors all these days.

There´s a strangled sort of sound, but Natasha looks impassive as ever when he looks at her.

“Mr. S. told us you liked to dance?” Peter2 half tells, half asks Natasha, and Tony can feel that he´s asking for some sort of reaffirmation. Natasha gives a slow nod, sliced lips pursed tight.

Wendy pulls a shoebox out then. When she opens it, Tony can see that they´ve stuffed the inside to make it look like a bed or -morbidly- a coffin. Peter2 goes to put the doll in, but Tony steps forward.

“Wait” and he stretches a hand. He holds the Natasha doll softly and carefully as he undoes the bun, and lets the hair fall down in a soft wooly cascade around her face. Then he kneels on the ground as well, and rests the doll on his lap to leave both hands free.

He divides the doll´s hair into two sections, and then one of the sections into three, braiding it quickly before moving to the other side. 

He hears Natasha gasp behind him, and her soft whisper “Мой друг...”

Tony hands the doll back to Peter2, and it takes him a second to find his voice. “Now it´s her” he says. It sounds strained, but by this point the pain of separation that´s begun to settle is both expected and accepted. Still, Loki´s hand coming to rest comfortingly on his shoulder is very much welcome.

Peter2 nods, and lays Natasha down on the small coffin-like box, before carefully placing it inside the hole Wanda dug and is now filling up again.

There´s an air of seriousness around, like they´re burying an actual person rather than an effigy, which Tony guesses they are.

Wanda drops the last trowelful of dirt on top of the pile, and Peter2 reaches into the box again.

Out comes a small, notebook-sized board of plywood with a simple phrase drawn in black sharpie.

_Спокойной ночи Наталья_

Peter2 grabs the piece of chalk and, after a deep breath, writes.

_Пиетро_

And he hands it to his sister. Her hands shake a little when she sees his writing, before she adds her own.

_Ванда_

When they pass it to Tony, he takes the marker even though he technically doesn´t know what the words mean.

_Tony_

One by one they write their names on the small board -Sam even writes “Redwing” next to his- until it makes its way back to Peter2.

He places the board by the head of the tomb, stabbing it firmly but delicately on the freshly disturbed dirt, and Natasha lights up like a floodlight.

When Tony can see again, after his eyes have stopped watering, the Natasha standing before him -or floating, rather- is not the one he knows. Instead he sees the smiling girl with the braids and scratched knees he imagined. She´s smiling, and missing a tooth, and she´s beautiful in her pristine white ballet thighs and tutu.

“Hey” she speaks, and her voice is not the careful, controlled and slightly dangerous whisper they´ve grown used to, but rather a silver bell ringing. “The braids were a really nice touch”

Tony´s throat is dry. “I… thought you might like them”

Natasha laughs and leans forward to kiss Tony´s forehead. Contrary to every single time his ghosts have attempted to touch him before, it feels warm and the heat travels through Tony like a current of electricity. 

“Thank you” she says, and she looks over her shoulder. A few feet away, a pale woman with long black hair stands, looking at them with a serene smile and tears running down her slightly too thin face. Natasha turns to look back to Tony, and he notices her eyes are still the old, tired green of adult Nat. “Don´t mourn what moves on, Tony. Welcome what may come instead” she whispers, and turns to the others. “Live” she says, and it feels like a request, like a great promise they´ve made to her.

The small girl spins on her heel, and goes to grab her mother´s hand. They walk away from them, none looking back, and fading a bit more with each step until they´re gone.

\-----

_Don´t mourn what moves on_

“Hey um…” Tony starts later that night.

“Hmm?” Loki´s standing in front of the bathroom mirror, and Tony experiences a flash of domesticity. It´s crazy, he thinks, how his life has changed since he checked out the empty warehouse in New York thinking of purchasing and remodelling it.

_Welcome what may come_

“I don´t know uh… What your plans are, or anything but” there´s a knot of nerves in his stomach, so Tony sits up on the bed to be able to see into the bathroom, and is immediately treated with the sight of Loki in a ridiculous facemask. It works wonders to make him relax “if you´re thinking of moving out from your parents´ place like… the right way now, you could always come live here” There, it´s said.

Loki´s hands freeze where they are stretching the wet looking mask over his cheekbones, but the damned thing is enhancing his stupid natural ability to look emotionless and Tony has no idea what he´s thinking.

Then he moves to keep adjusting the mask and time moves again.

“I would like that” is all he says.

Tony lets out a breath he didn´t know he was holding, even as his mind goes over the stupid four words answer again and again, looking for a hidden meaning that tells him he´s stepping on a line. Then Loki speaks from the bathroom again, and his voice is nervous now, like Tony felt not a minute ago.

“Uh... How do you feel about dogs?”

Tony smiles and lays back on the bed.

_Live_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRANSLATIONS  
> (It´s from Google translate guys but I tried my best to make sure they were accurate. If you´re a native speaker feel free to send me corrections!)
> 
> From Serbian:
> 
> Слушај, Пиетро- : Listen, Pietro-
> 
> Пиетро је прекрасно име: Pietro is a wonderful name
> 
> радије не бих: I would rather not
> 
> Не кроз тебе: Not through you
> 
> Није ни битно: It is not important
> 
> Паметна мала вештица, твој брат је поносан на тебе: Smart little witch, your brother is proud of you
> 
> Пропустићу те две: I will miss those two
> 
> From Russian:
> 
> Мой друг...: My friend…
> 
> Спокойной ночи Наталья: Goodnight, Natalia


	5. Chapter 5

****

5

"I need to ask a favor" T'challa says once he's finally sitting on Tony's kitchen table. Sam places a sympathetic hand on his shoulder, and even Redwing only rests her muzzle on his thigh, looking up at him with sad eyes. Tony is actually beginning to get worried. "I know it's a lot to ask but... You're the only one I can turn to and-"

"T'challa what is it?" Tony interrupts. He feels like a live wire, anxious to _do_ something. "We'll work it out, but you need to tell me what it is and-" the stops talking, when T'challa sighs and bends down to pick up a box from the floor. 

And he pulls down a hand-sized cat covered in so much fur it's probably suffocating. 

"... Let me understand this" Tony begins. T'challa places the kitten on the table, where it looks up at Tony with barely opened blue eyes "You called me telling you had an emergency. You drove all the way here the minute I told you I'd help. You've been sitting there looking like your sister died. For. A. Cat." He doesn't think he can add any more dryness to that without sucking out the moisture in the air, so it'll have to do.

"I understand your concerns, but I must ask you to let me tell you the full story" T'challa replies, all diplomacy and calm now that his stupid ass fake emergency has been revealed. 

Tony crosses his arms over his chest, and refuses to look at the ridiculous furball on the table. He's not adopting a cat.

Not happening.

\--------

"Tony?" 

"Yes dear?" Tony asks back, not looking away from his laptop screen. Loki's voice has that tense quality that anticipates sulking. 

"Why is there a cat in the kitchen?"

"Her name is Freya" he felt like the name would maaaaaybe sweeten the deal?

"Its name can be whatever, we never talked about a cat" Tony looks up, and Loki's there, arms crossed over his chest and giving the kitten a death glare.

The kitten is giving it back just as strongly, and Tony's surprised to see so much hatred from a being that was curled over his shoulder purring like an engine only a minute ago.

"She has quite a sad backstory, I thought you two could bond over that" Tony leans back on his chair and pats his lap. "C'mere"

And he has to refrain himself from chuckling, because Loki can be as huffy as he wants, but he still loves being pampered. Also the look Freya gives him as Loki takes a seat could melt steel.

"Alright then, tell me the parasite's sobstory" Loki grumbles. Freya hisses at him.

"Eh it's pretty normal for a cat I guess, I just wanted to get you over here" Tony leans up to kiss his cheek and squeezes his thigh affectionately. "She's Jennyfur's kitten. Apparently they were born early while T'challa wasn't home, and Freya was the only one who made it"

Loki huffs "So now you have a cat"

Tony smirks and caresses the underside of Loki's jawline with a finger, chuckling as he leans into it "I guess. I also adopted Freya"

"How fucking funny Mr. Stark"

\----

"-so you lied to get enlisted, of course" the voice has a slight chuckle behind him, and Tony hurries into the living room, because hearing Loki smile is second only to actually watching Loki smile.

Both Steve and Loki turn to look and wave at him, before continuing their conversation.

"Hey Mr. S!" Greets Peter1. He's sitting cross-legged on Tony's armchair, tapping away at his laptop. "How was the run with the guys?"

Tony smirks "Good enough. T'challa and Sam must've ran around the park at least twenty times, and Redwing and I had a leisure walk and ice cream for breakfast"

"So you got to hang out with Redwing while I looked after your parasite?" Loki throws a well-aimed sofa cushion.

"Sweetcheeks, that's a very mean way to call Peter" Tony admonishes as he sends the cushion flying back "Now where's my cat?"

A drawn out mix between a purr and a meow comes from somewhere around Peter1's vicinity, and Tony looks that way in time to see Freya poke her head out from his collar.

Peter1 shrugs sheepishly "Loki was arguing with her when I came in and she just went in there as soon as I sat down"

"I was doing no such thing" Loki complains from his place in the couch, and Steve laughs.

"If it's any consolation, I'm sure the cat was thinking very unsavory things about you as well Loki" he says

"Fine, keep on not believing me you morons" Loki crosses his arms over his chest "When that cat kills you all, I'll make sure to sharpie "I told you so" on all your gravestones"

Tony laughs and steps in to sit next to Loki and lay his head on his lap. He hears Freya give him a resentful meow: "So who lied to get enlisted?" 

"I did" Steve declares proudly before Loki even had a chance to open his mouth. Tony takes a look at his half (full?) smile and rolls his eyes fondly. 

"Why couldn't you get in the right way? I mean look at you, I bet you just punched Nazis in the face and recalibrated their brains" Tony asks "Had the wrong birthday or something?"

"Try debilitating asthma and the physique of someone who couldn't lift a stuffed bear without having an attack" Loki responds. Tony's about to laugh at the joke, when he notices Steve's translucent cheeks have become a bit more opaque, and he chokes on it.

"What?!" He springs up from his laying position "You're kidding me, I- look at you!"

"Really Mr. Stark?" Peter1 remarks, amused "Checking another dude out in front of your boyfriend?" 

Steve's face is so flushed he's almost entirely opaque, Tony knows he's not the only one who's noticed when Loki chuckles by his side before speaking

"Leave him Peter. We can all appreciate a national treasure" he says, and Tony turns in time to see him give the ghost a playful wink "Everybody loves a man in uniform"

There's a sudden pop, and Steve's form is enveloped by clear white smoke. When it dissipates, he's nowhere to be seen.

"Uh... Steve?" Tony asks, all joy forgotten. What if they-

"Don't objectify me" comes Steve's deliciously offended voice, and Tony finds himself laughing again. Who knew you could embarrass a ghost into de-materializing?

\----

Of course Loki thinks he doesn't notice, but it's the fourth time he's fixed his shirt in ten minutes and Tony's not blind.

He's nervous, and it's hilarious.

"I'm sure he'll like you. Relax " Tony leans in to kiss his cheek, and Loki turns to give him an offended, unimpressed look.

"I'm perfectly relaxed, thank you very much" he says shortly, and takes a long drag of his beer. Tony chuckles and then shoots up from his seat because _Rhodey just walked in!_

He hugs his best friend for the first time in almost two years, and relishes on the familiarity of the feeling. At New York or Florida or Afghanistan or that one time in Mexico, Rhodey has that effect of making him feel at home in a way he hasn't felt since they were twelve and Maria Stark received them at the Manor with freshly baked cookies after school.

"I'm so sorry about Obbie" Rhodey says, and the illusion of safety is immediately shattered. "I wish I could've been there"

"You were." Tony mutters back. Exchanging memes with Rhodey after a night terror when Loki had already left for Minnesota and Pepper was asleep was not the same as actually having him there, but it had helped, and Rhodey had never failed to reply a single text. "I need to talk to you about that, by the way"

"Sure" Rhodey Pat's his back "But first, you must be Loki" he says, taking a step towards the table. Tony turns to look and finds Loki has closed the top button of his shirt and the ones at his cuffs, and has a giggling attack.

He can feel Loki's eyes burning holes into his face while Rhodey stares, confused.

\----

"... So how did Pepper react to this?" Rhodey asks. His voice is firm and steady, and Tony suspects it's the years of military training as he looks at him through Steve's midsection.

"She wanted alcohol and tea" he responds

Rhodey nods. "Be a dear will you?"

\----

It takes them hours to go through it all, and it's mostly because Tony's stalling, loathe as he is to admit it.

He crams as much detail as he can into Thor's story, into Clint and Natasha's. He pulls out the kids' channel and walks Rhodey through the videos, he tells the entire story with Loki.

In the end though, he has to speak about Bruce.

About Obadiah.

Tony has to finish his sixth beer and add a shot of whiskey (or two) on top, just to get it out, and it's been a while since he's drank like this, but he manages to explain.

Rhodey goes paler with every new discovery, and his hands and voice begin to lose his composure the way they didn't when presented with Steve's ghost.

"He... Obadiah tried to kill you" is the first thing Rhodey says after the story ends. "He shot you"

Tony nods and gestures to the circular scar on his calf. He feels like he'll puke if he speaks, and he can see Loki leaning against the kitchen door threshold, looking at him with focused, careful eyes.

He must look a mess.

"I can't believe it..." Rhodey adds, running a hand over his face. "Obbie, he- he was always a bit too-" he stops after Tony flinches, and sighs instead. "I'm.. I'm glad this Bruce was there"

"I killed him Rhodey" Tony says, and here, almost seven months after the fact and in the middle of his living room is when he finally dares saying it. "He raised me, and I killed him"

Loki takes a step into the room, but Rhodey's already limping his way over to sit next to him on the couch, and wraps and arm across his shoulders.

Tony sees Loki nod once, feels Rhodey nod back and then Loki's leaving and Tony can finally crumble in a way he couldn't with either him or Pepper, because it's always been Rhodey who’s the most adept at picking up his pieces.

\----

It takes him a while to notice, and when he finally does it hits him like a brick to the face.

"We gotta pick Peter up" he says as he and Rhodey climb into the car after the movie. Rhodey lifts and eyebrow.

"Where is he?" He asks. They're backing out of the parking spot. "And where are we going?"

"They're at the library. Loki's helping him with his history final project" he rolls his eyes. Nerds. He can feel Rhodey's eyes on him, and they're strangely accusing, so he opts for answering to the second question "It's Saturday. We have games night today" he says simply

They drive in silence for a few minutes, until Rhodey speaks as the sky opens and rain begins to fall.

"Family games night?" He asks.

Tony doesn't slam on the brake per se, instead coming to a stop a few meters past the library. 

"I... Guess?" Tony tries "... Huh"

"Sounds nice" Rhodey pats his shoulder "What are we eating?"

"Sam's bringing Thai. And the wonder twins have been craving milkshakes so T'challa bought ice cream" the steady splashing of rain on the windshield is soothing, as Tony contemplates how his life has changed. "I hadn't noticed you know?"

Rhodey, bless his heart, laughs "I started wondering when I saw you'd changed to a four seater"

"Hey, it's still a convertible" Tony argues, offended on behalf of his car. Rhodey nods.

"Still very you. Just... Different you" he concedes.

Tony huffs, hands relaxing on the wheel and he turns to his friend. "This was definitely not what I was expecting when I moved here"

"It's still good though isn't it?" Rhodey asks. The back doors click open and the car gets flooded with a sudden current of cold air as Loki and Peter1 dive inside. 

"See? You didn't die!" Peter1 laughs, and Loki lays a hand on his face and pushes him aside.

"Peter when you live my lifestyle you can't just run out in the rain towards the car, _they_ have to come get you"

They're out of breath and smiling, and Tony feels the air warm up again. 

"It's pretty great"

\----

"So how come you survived the army if you had like... Terminal asthma?" Tony asks later that night. They just finished a round of charades, and are waiting when Wanda and Peter2 set up the Monopoly board. This is going to end up badly, but the game has been getting too amiable and they need to spark up some competitiveness.

"I didn't" Steve smirks back from where he's putting his hand through the soda bottles to cool them up. "I didn't tell you? They offered me the chance to be a test subject for a new drug" he explains "Metapro-something?"

Tony frowns "And that was it?"

The ghost smiles dreamily "That was it. You have no idea Tony, this was the first thing to actually _work_. Suddenly I could breathe and I could run and I could just... Live normally" he says "the asthma wasn't gone but I could stop the attacks and I could do so many things I had only dreamed of-"

"Like lifting?" Peter2 interrupts, and Steve laughs

"Believe me, I was lifting like there was no tomorrow" he says, his cheek turning opaque as he smiles

“Oh we do” Sam laughs “So what do you think is keeping you back? I´d say you did pretty good for yourself”

And just like that, Steve´s face turns from amusement to something much heavier.

“I made a promise. And… I´m afraid I didn´t keep it” he responds. It´s not dramatic, like it was with Thor or Clint, or muted and resigned like with Bruce and Natasha.

By now Tony knows what it looks like when his ghosts reach their parting point, but Steve seems to not have gotten the memo.

“A promise to who?” Tony asks. His voice is hoarse, and he feels Loki´s hand slip into his, and Rhodey leans against his shoulder.

Steve smiles, and fades out of view.

The silence becomes thick as the seconds tick by, and Tony feels all the stares coming to rest on him. In the end, he rolls his eyes. “Leave it to him to ruin a games night because he doesn´t like Monopoly” he says “We can deal with that tomorrow. Dibs on the Ferrari”

He reaches for it with the hand Loki isn´t holding, and it seems to break the spell.

“I want the cowboy hat!” calls Peter2, and promptly snatches it out of Wanda´s hand. 

“Plane´s mine” Rhodey reaches for it and finds it already gripped in Sam´s hand, which should be interesting.

Out the corner of his eye, he catches Loki tearing a piece of fishcake and feed it to Freya, who only takes a perfunctory slash at his hand before taking the offered treat, and he smiles.

Steve is leaving soon, Tony thinks, even if he doesn´t believe it himself. But it doesn´t mean he can´t enjoy another night with his family.

\----

 _”Come on Loki, it´s her birthday. The least you can do is bring him”_ says a voice coming from laptop speakers. Tony feels his interest get piqued, and he takes a hesitant step towards the kitchen.

“I agree” Loki replies dryly. “But see, that would directly clash against my best interests, which are keeping my life away from the mess that is Rochester” 

_”You´re taking this mysterious persona way too far, Balder wouldn´t even tell us anything about this guy, what did you threaten him with?”_ counters a female voice this time. Tony comes closer still, in part because he´s never heard Loki speaking to someone from back home, but mostly because he´s so _sure_ he´s heard these voices before.

“Balder is a smart cookie who takes after his brother” Loki´s smirks, clearly pleased. “Besides, it´s not a persona. I always made it clear I was too big to be contained in that-” 

_”Loki we saw you take a class on introduction to trout fishing for your dad, there´s nothing mysterious about you”_

And that´s when Tony throws himself between Loki and the screen.

“Hello I believe I need to make your acquaintance? I´m Tony” he introduces himself as fast as he can, because he can feel Loki recovering from his shock and starting to push at him.

The screen shows Fandral and Hogun and Sif, and it´s weird to talk to them now, when he´s only ever seen them in pictures Loki sent or in their dead best friend´s memories. They look absolutely _delighted_

 _”VOLSTAGG COME HERE, LOKI´S BOYFRIEND IS ON THE CALL!”_ Fandral leans over the couch to scream at someone off frame. 

“Get off!” Loki´s pushing him more fiercely now, so Tony grips to the edges of the table 

“Sweetcheeks I´m talking to your friends, don´t be rude”

 _”Oh my god they have petnames!”_ Sif´s face looks like Christmas came early, and Tony winks at her just as Loki leans over him to try and recover control of the laptop

“No we don´t, I´m going to hang up no-”

“Whose birthday is it and where should I go?” asks Tony, pushing the laptop further across the table and away from Loki´s fingertips as he ignores the mumbled _”i´m going to kill you”_

 _”Is that him?!”_ asks a larger man sliding into scene and angling the laptop screen to get a better view at him. Tony waves.

 _”Rochester, three weeks, it´s his mom´s b-”_ and Loki slams the screen shut as Fandral tries to get the invitation across.

“They seem nice” Tony says after letting the silence stretch for a couple minutes. Loki´s still draped over his back and his weight is comforting. “How did the trout fishing go?”

“Listen, my dad had post-retirement depression ok?!”

“That´s so sweet”

“I hate you”

“So what should we buy for your mom?”

\----

“Hey Loki” Rhodey calls as he comes into the living room.

Loki stiffens where he´s laying on Tony´s chest as they watch The Lion King because they are Adults and no one can judge them. 

Tony squeezes him; though he´s relaxed considerably around Rhodey since he didn´t immediately despise him and even more so since he talked to Pepper about the worries he didn´t dare voicing to Tony, Loki still acts way more careful than usual when Rhodey´s present.

“Yeah?” Loki straightens up in the couch, and Freya takes the opening to come and ball up on top of Tony.

“There´s a travelling exhibition coming from the World War II museum in New Orleans” Rhodey starts “It´s gonna be at the Historical Society. I thought we could go check it out if you´re not busy? I thought of inviting Tony but seeing as he´s uninterested in any history that doesn´t involve circuits I thought you´d be a far better companion”

“Oh” is all Loki says at the beginning, and Tony can feel his surprise. “That sounds… Cool” he stands up. Looks like movie time is over then. “ I´ll go get ready”

“Sure” Rhodey waves him away as he makes his way to the couch himself. Maybe movie time is not over after all? Loki´s steps fade up the stairs and Tony chuckles “Think the awkward will go away eventually?” he asks

Tony chuckles and Freya purrs louder on his chest. “It´s adorable. How´s it feel to be the one keeping my date on their toes for once? Normally it´s Pepper who´s in charge of that”

“I feel powerful” Rhodey smirks 

\---- 

“Hello spooks! We're back with Mr. X once more, as the last of his supernatural buddies gets ready for his trip to the afterlife!” Says Peter2 into the mic, and Tony has to restrain from wincing. Peter2 is right.

It doesn't mean it feels alright.

By his side, Steve -who has reformed but is somehow less corporeal- sighs. 

“I don't think I can leave” he says. Then, lower. “I don't want to either”

Tony looks sideways at him “I'm not crazy about you leaving either but… isn't it like, what you should aspire to?”

“It is” Steve nods. “But I'm-” he runs a hand through his hair as he sighs again “I just can't. Not yet"

“Why is that my ghastly friend?” Suddenly there's a mic propped in front of his face, and Peter2 is looking encouragingly up at him.

Peter1 gives him a thumbs up from behind the camera “We're going to do everything we can to help you pass, if you can tell us where to begin. How did you die, sir?”

And Steve frankly looks like he'd rather be forcefully exorcised rather than remain in front of the camera. Still, he loves the kids, Tony knows. So he stays.

“I am… not sure” he says. “I was enrolled in the second war. My best guess is I died there”

“Well… you said you served in Austria right?” Peter1 asks again. “I… think we'd have to talk to our sponsor about-” Tony arches an eyebrow as he gives the teen his dryest stare “... Or not”

“I am ready” Wanda’s airy medium voice comes from the entrance to the living room. She comes into frame with slow steps, eyes never leaving Steve's. “I am here to help you, Steve. Together, we can pierce the fog of your past and help you find that which is tethering you to the living world. Your soul and my powers, we can make this wrong right, and send you to a place of Light”

It's so ridiculously overacted that Steve can't hold back his chuckle. Tony smiles. Perhaps he’s right, and they won't find whatever it is that’s keeping him here, but they can still have a bit of fun.

“I'm afraid this exceeds even you, Miss Wanda” Steve starts, tone reverent and sticky “But I trust your powers and the purity of your heart. If you and your guardians would attempt, I would be honored to let you help”

“My guardians. I like that" Wanda gives the camera a wink.

Peter2 rolls his eyes. “So? Are you gonna do the thing or not?”

“The thing" Wanda frowns, marking air quotes with her fingers “is extremely complicated and I don't expect you to get it, goofus” Peter2 sticks his tongue out at her and now Tony's rolling his eyes. He knows better than to think this part is acted.

“Guys can we focus? This guy really needs our help" Peter1 intervenes when Wanda takes the first menacing step towards her twin. That makes her turn.

“Right. The thing” she composes herself, and takes a deep breath in preparation. “Mr. X… I'm afraid the last time I took the spirit's memories into myself it took a higher toll on me that I expected” she turns to Tony, beckoning him towards her with a stretched hand. “I find that acting as a point of contact between them and you is a better use of my power… if you don't mind?”

Tony most definitely minds, as the last time he went into one of his ghost's memories he ended up suffocating to death in a car, but the last time Wanda did it they beat her and drowned her. As the responsible adult, this seems like his burden to bear.

He steps into frame, and takes her hand into his. She's warm, and the corner of her lips twitches when he makes a funny face. This entire “blur your face out” thing has its benefits.

“Anything to help” he says solemnly, all the while focusing on keeping his eyes crossed and his nose scrunched. 

Wanda keeps it together. Fucking superb.

“We appreciate it Mr. X… Steven, if you'd be so kind” she offers her free hand to Steve. And he takes it.

_There's gunfire and screaming, and Tony’s running across it all at a much higher speed than he's ever reached before. He knows an attack is coming, he feels it in his chest and in his lungs but he has no time to worry about it. People are dying, and he needs to reach that bunker. It's the only thing that matters, and if he dies reaching it then…_

“Mr. X? Did you see anything?” Wanda's voice calls him back to the present.

Tony winks the battle scene away, the shooting still ringing in his ears, the smell of blood still strong in his nose, and he looks at Steve.

“What was in that bunker Steve?” He asks. It felt so important that Tony's willing to bet it was _not_ reaching it what killed him, rather than any bullet that hit him during the attempt.

Steve gives him that stupid sad half smile again.

And fades.

\----

“Text me when you get home will you?” Tony asks. He pats Rhodey one last time on the shoulder. He misses him already.

“Will do dad” Rhodey rolls his eyes. Tony smirks

“Hey, only he can call me that” and he gestures at Loki, standing a few steps behind with Rhodeys luggage.

Loki grimaces “Please don't” and Tony chuckles 

“Are you sure I can't do anything to help with Steve’s business?” Rhodey asks again. Just like the other times, Tony shakes his head.

“I get the feeling this is a layers thing” he shrugs “Who knows how long it'll take us to get to the bottom of it, and then to find whatever it is he needs"

“Sounds like a handful”

“Eh, I've got the kids. And Loki and the others” Tony shrugs again, this time with a smile. Rhodey smiles back and he can just guess what his sappy ass is going to say, so he punches his shoulder lightly. “Shut it.”

Rhodey lifts his hands in surrender. “I'm glad Tony. I mean… we miss you back home. But it's nice to see you're not alone” and he goes in for another hug. “I'm proud"

Tony hugs him back, letting out an amused puff of air “Thanks dad” he receives the slap to the back of the head with dignity, and turns to take the luggage from Loki “I'll see you soon"

“I'll hold you to that" Rhodey points at him playfully, before waving goodbye “Take care of our idiot Loki”

“Have a safe trip" is all Loki says after nodding. Perhaps it doesn't have the same energy as “drive safe”, but Tony can feel the reluctant fondness and he feels a burst of warmth in his chest.

Rhodey walks through the boarding gates, and they go back home.

\----

"I think we're looking at it the wrong way" says Peter1 after an afternoon of Tony being torn apart by bullets in Austria while trying to reach a bunker.

"Tell me about it" Tony groans. Aspirin is only do effective when the headache is imaginary. "What do you suggest?"

"The way I see it" Peter1 sits on the couch next to him. "Steve never reached the bunker. So we'll never find out what was in there by trying to go in, because he never knew either"

"Oh, he knows _exactly_ what was in there" Tony frowns. Steve has been playing hard to get and vanishing every fucking time he tries to ask him about it, and that more than anything is what makes Tony so certain. 

"Well yeah, but he never got to see it, so _we_ can't see it. That's the thing" Peter1 says as he gets his project stuff out. "I'm thinking we need to go back, rather than focusing on the last part of his life"

Tony blinks. "You've been spending too much time with the History major" he says finally, throwing a forearm across his eyes. "We can try it tomorrow"

Loki comes in then, pushing Peter1 aside with all the subtlety of a battering ram. Tony wants to laugh, but then Loki's fingers are tracing patterns into his scalp, doing much more for his headache than the painkillers, and he decides on silence.

Freya comes to lay on him just as Loki and Peter1 begin talking about the project and Tony allows himself to follow his cat into dreamland.

\----

When he walks into the house, Tony's faced first by a picture of Thor.

It's not prim and proper like the one they had at his funeral. Not at all. Instead, his face is contorted in laughter, holding a small Balder over his hip. It takes Tony a second to notice Loki's in the picture too, firmly trapped in a headlock by Thor's free arm.

It occurs to him, how sad it must have been to walk into this house when the picture depicted not one but two missing sons.

"I didn't think he'd bring you, to be honest" Balder says from where he's still holding the door open. "I bet Fandral five dollars"

"I wasn't going to, and if he intends to collect you can direct him to me" Loki pulls him along as he goes through the threshold. 

"Loki?" This comes from a different source, a small woman with wavy blonde hair that's starting to go silver in places. The last time Tony saw her, she was standing Her face lights up like a Christmas tree when she sees them, and Tony looks sideways in time to see Loki's entire demeanor change.

"Hello Mom" he smiles. It's so different from each and every smile he's ever seen of Loki, soft where the others are sharp, open when others are careful. "Happy birthday" and he wraps his mother in a hug, almost enveloping her completely and lifting her off the floor a few inches.

Behind them, Balder catches Tony's attention and then rolls his eyes, making him snort. 

"Oh yeah" Loki puts his mom down at the sudden noise, and Tony turns his expression to neutral so fast he thinks he pulled a muscle. "This is Tony. Tony, my mom Frigga"

And he says nothing more, but Tony gets the distinct impression that Frigga knows. He's not sure whether that means she suspects him of having talked to her eldest son through the veil of death, helping break her middle son out of his self destructive rut, or merely that they're banging, but she knows _something_.

"A pleasure" he greets warmly because regardless of possible sixth (or seventh, or whateverenth) sense, she's still sorta his mother in law and law dictated you ought to make a proper first impression.

Frigga grabs his stretched hand between her warm, soft ones, and smiles. “The pleasure is all mine. Would you like a cup of coffee?” she asks, and is pulling him deeper into the house before Tony even has a chance to reply, leaving the brothers behind. Tony lets himself be dragged, because if there´s something he´s learned from dealing with the Borsons is that one must, at times, learn to go with the flow.

Besides, he can smell freshly baked cookies and some things are literally impossible to refuse.

\----

“It´s gonna take a bit more work this time, if we´re going to go deeper into his memories” Wanda announces. She sits on the armchair of the couch Tony´s currently occupational, and closes her eyes. 

“Take your time Red” Tony nods, before turning to look at Steve “Are you sure you can´t just tell us what´s in there?” he asks, frowning. 

Steve huffs in annoyance. “What for? So you can continue to ignore what I tell you?” he asks and Tony feels himself bristle because well, he has a trademark on running from his problems, Steve can´t just take that from him “I don´t need help crossing”

“What is it with you and not wanting to go man?” Tony asks, but his voice sounds tired even to his ears. He´s asked Steve this many times before since they started trying to dive into his memories, and the conversations always end tersely. “I thought it was important for you ghosts”

Around them, the kids are silent. Wanda´s still meditating on the couch, and Peter1 is recording the conversation. Peter2, in contrast, looks remarkable uncomfortable being present in the discussion, fidgeting on the other armchair.

“Well, not for me” Steve crosses his arms. Or he folds an arm over his chest, Tony can´t be sure. This half body thing is confusing sometimes. “If you want me gone so badly just ask her to put me into something and throw me out, honestly”

“Now you´re just throwing a tantrum and being childish” Tony rolls his eyes “I´m only trying to help, and the fact that you´re so defensive about this is kinda a giveaway that you need i-”

“Has it ever occured to you that maybe people don´t want your freaking help?!” Steve interrupts then, fist balled by his side “Honestly, what are you running away from?!”

Tony makes to stand there, because what the fuck? How dare this idiot make this about _him_ , when all Tony´s trying to do is fucking help?! When Tony´s the one that´s going to be left behind all alone while Steve goes on his merry way to join the other ghosts wherever the “other side” is?

However, Wanda´s hand is on his forearm as soon as he moves, and she´s launching herself forwards. Steve recoils, but Wanda´s inertia is too much, and her hand makes contact with his side before he can get away.

_It smells like urine and garbage. Great._

_Tony looks around, and finds himself in a filthy alleyway, which explains the smell, at least. At one end of it lies a twitching man, and standing before him, a tall brown-haired man shaking his hand. It was probably a good punch then._

_“I had it all under control” says someone, and Tony turns to find a miniature, malnourished and full bodied version of the ghost currently living at his house. Steve´s lip is bleeding but he´s smiling through it all._

_“You seriously need to learn how to stay down after the first hit” the other man huffs. His tone is annoyed, but the way he looks at Steve makes Tony dismiss any notion that it isn´t laced with warmth. “It´s the third time this week”_

_“He was bothering some girls in the street” Steve shrugs, and he pulls on the man´s arm, directing him out of the alley. The man they left behind has begun to stir awake, but he probably won´t be following anytime soon.. “Let´s go. I have to cook tonight”_

_The man´s face curls in a grimace. “Sarah´s still down?” he asks_

_Steve nods. “The doctor says it´s influenza. We need to wait it out, but… she´s not getting better”_

_“She will” says the other man, and he lays a hand down on Steve´s skinny shoulder, earning a thankful smile._

“Mr. Stark? Are you ok?” That´s Peter1´s voice, and the fact that he´s using his real name let out the fact that he´s really worried.

“I´m-” Tony starts

“Not done” Wanda interrupts, her eyes rolling back into her head again. Tony has enough time to wonder if they´ll add some eerie glow in post before he´s pulled away again.

_”At least she went in her sleep” it´s Steve again, but he sounds muted. Defeated._

_“She´s alright now” Tony recognizes the man from before, and when his vision clears he realizes they´re sitting on a fire escape, overlooking a busy street. “I´m more worried about you”_

_“I´ll… be ok” Steve says. Tony can hear the lie in his words and apparently so can this man, because he lifts a hand to grip Steve´s shoulder again. This prompts Steve to look up at him with a sad smile. “I mean, I still have you don´t I?”_

_And the man smiles._

_“You know it” he says, looking at Steve in a way that makes Tony feel like he´s intruding, even if he´s intangible “I´m with you til the end of the line”_

“-let go Wanda!” it´s Peter2 this time, and Tony tries to get up and reasure them that he´s ok, only he can´t. Steve is struggling like Wanda -who looks entranced- has an iron grip on something deep inside him. Tony feels something warm running down his face, and the weight of loss is asphixiating.

“What the fuck is happening?!” and Loki´s here. Probably attracted by all the noise and screaming, Tony decides.

Then he´s out again

_”I still can´t believe it, if you ask me” by now, Tony can recognize the man´s voice. It´s followed by the slap of skin on skin and he panics for a second, before the picture clears and he realizes he´s in some sort of bar, everyone is fully clothed and the noise was the man slapping Steve´s bicep. “I´m pretty sure that wasn´t just some asthma drug they gave you”_

_Steve laughs, and he looks much more like the Steve Tony´s familiar with. He´s not as buff, but his frame has started filling up, and he looks healthy at last. “I´m not going to complain man, I ran seven miles this morning”_

_“I´m swooning” the man rolls his eyes, before his gaze latches onto something. When Tony follows his gaze, he finds a young woman mixing with the other uniformed folks, smiling politely but mantaining an air of aloofness. “Hey look, Carter came down to mingle with the mortals” and he elbows Steve´s side with a mischievous smile. “Go tell her how much you ran this morning”_

_Steve sputters into his beer, cheeks going red despite his smile “You´re a jerk”  
_

“-the fucking camera OFF?!” Loki´s grip on his forearm -the one Wanda isn´t clamped down upon- is bruising “Peter, hold her still!”

Tony stays in the present for long enough to see Loki lay his balled fist´s knuckles against Wanda´s sternum

_”I need to talk to you before you go in” it´s an unknown voice this time. Feminine, authoritative and, in this moment, soft with empathy. It´s the woman from the bar._

_“Yeah the 107th, I know Peggy, I need to see-” Steve attempts to walk around her, but the woman lays a tiny hand against the man´s chest, and stops him in his tracks as if he wasn´t thrice his size._

_“Barnes is not there” she says softly. “I´m… I´m sorry Steve”_

_Steve takes a step back as if he´s been hit, and looks at the woman like a drowning man would a buoy “Bucky, is he-?”_

_“We believe he´s amongst the captured ones” Peggy Carter straightens up, and the steel in her posture seems to give Steve strength as well, which is probably what she was going for, given the way her face twists with determination. “We´re going to get them back. I´ll get you on the front line”_

“-FUCK” Wanda´s screaming, And Tony jolts on the armchair.

“What the _fuck_ did you do to her?!” and now Peter2´s screaming, and he can feel a headache building. He groans, and there´s a hand on his shoulder holding him against the backrest. “Loki! What did you-”

“She´s ok, can you shut up for a second?!” Loki snarls, sparing the teen an exasperated look. “Hey. Talk to me” He says. It´s not a request.

“I´m… Ok. I think” Tony complies after clearing his throat a couple times to get his voice back. “What happened to her?”

Loki lets out a relieved sigh, standing up. “I gave her a sternum rub. She wasn´t responding, and it was the only thing I could think of to wake her up” he explains, and turns to the twins. “It´s painful, huh?”

“I hate you” Wanda groans, holding her chest while Peter2 glares daggers at him.

“Are you sure you´re alright?” comes a quieter voice from the side of the side of the armchair, and Tony finds Peter1 looking down at him in concern. “It´s been like twenty minutes”

Huh.

“As right as can be kiddo” he reassures him. Over by the coffeetable, Wanda has apparently stopped writhing in pain and Peter2 has allowed Loki to check her pulse. “What happened?”

Peter1 frowns “Wanda was like… passed out. And you were crying, and Steve kept flashing on and off, and when Loki woke her up he... “ the teen takes a shaky breath “I… guess that´s what it looks like when you´re shot?” he asks “He just… got hit like a lot of times, and then he disappeared”

“The bunker again, I presume” Tony rubs a hand over his face 

“Do we know what was inside?” Peter1 asks, interested.

Tony looks around until he catches the lone eye of his resident ghost. He looks sheepish to say the least, and several bullet holes now decorate his chest.

“One Bucky Barnes” Tony says, arching an eyebrow at Steve. “Mighty hypocrite of you, to tell me off for trying to help huh?”

“... Wait, what did you say?” Loki calls from across the room before Steve has a chance to respond.

“Bucky Barnes?” Tony frowns. 

“His real name is James” Steve interjects then, as if the mere mention of the name hurts “James Buchanans Barnes”

There´s absolutely _no way_ Loki´s nerd degree gives him knowledge of every single american soldier in World War II. Or so Tony thinks, before Loki´s sprinting out of the room, leaving behind a very disgruntled pair of twins. “... So what was this promise bud?” Tony opts to go back to his conversation with Steve instead.

The ghost shrugs. “I… We were there for each other” he says “And then… I wasn´t”

Tony´s about to say something, remind Steve that there was a war in between them, that both of them did everything they could and that it was literally the world´s fault that they weren´t able to stick together. Then he hears Freya hiss and Loki trip down the stairs. He sighs, and leans back on the armchair.

“I´ll check it out” Peter1 says as soon as Tony looks up tiredly at here. That´s a good intern, he´ll have to add “good in crisis” to his recommendation letters.

When hey come back into the living room Peter1 is holding a disgruntled, glaring cat to his chest, and Loki´s limping. However, what catches Tony´s eye is the crumpled booklet held in his hand, sporting the words “Visiting Exhibit: Memories of World War II”.

“... Steve, I think you might be in luck”

\----

Tony clicks his seatbelt on with a sense of foreboding. The parking lot around them is empty but for Sam and Wanda throwing sticks at Redwing beyond the concrete barrier.

“I don´t know Peter. I just think there must be a reason why no one has deemed it appropriate to teach you how to drive at nineteen” he sighs.

Peter2 shrugs with a grin that´s entirely _too_ excited “My dad is in jail and my mom is afraid of my potential” he says “Now which one is the gas pedal?”

“I´m… Let me call Pepper and ask her about my life insurance first ok?”

\----

“You think too highly of museum security” Loki rolls his eyes. The exhibit is still at the Historical Society, but it appears everyone wants to take a different approach to it. “I helped a friend slip an african tribal mask into his backpack once. I only had to fake a seizure”

“... I will pretend I heard nothing” Sam is the first to talk after the casual confession. “We could try what you did at the circus museum, say Loki´s writing a book. He has the credentials for it”

“Sam I love you” T´challa says dryly “But you heard the man. If somebody bothers to do a background check on him we´re all going to get banned”

“Excuse you, the State of New York has _nothing_ on me” Loki crosses his arms in offense. “But it´s probably not the best plan, he´s right.”

Tony pinches the bridge of his nose. This is his life, of course. “Let´s… Not go with any of those ideas then” he sighs. “I mean, depending on the layout of the museum we could just isolate ourselves with the… What is it they have of this Bucky fella?”

“A jacket” Loki reminds him. “I can-”

“No one is faking a seizure” T´challa interrupts. “Has Wanda found something to bind Steve to yet?”

“He´s in a sketchbook” Tony waves the matter away “I´m more worried about all the attendees to the exhibit witnessing a supernatural event. But I guess if we cut it close to the end of visiting hours…”

“We could always break in” Loki pipes in again. T´challa sighs and rubs circles on his temples.

“Tony could you ask your criminal boyfriend to retire himself from the discussion?” T´challa asks.

Loki´s smiling in a way that implies he´s immensely enjoying being overtly obtuse on purpose, and it´s contagious. “Actually, that´s a cool idea. I´ve always wanted to plan a heist”

T´challa groans.

\----

In the end, they rely on numbers to guarantee privacy. As it turns out, four grown men, a service dog and three college kids are enough to make one of the smaller rooms of the museum feel cramped.

When the Peters start cranking up the obnoxious teens act, filming each other and taking unnecessarily complicated selfies with the exhibits, people start drifting off with a few nasty looks aimed in their direction.

“That was easy” Tony observes with a raised eyebrow. “I guess we all forgot more people are eager to _not_ be in the presence of a group of teenagers”

“I take offense to that” Wanda scoffs “It´s just those two” 

The two in question are going around asking the remaining people if they´d like to participate in a Harlem Shake for their YouTube channel, which effectively pushes the last few stragglers out. 

“We should hurry now, before the guards come to ask them to leave” Loki turns to pull the sketchbook out his messenger back, and aims a suspicious glare at Sam and T´challa, who are watching him like hawks. “Can I help you?”

“Just making sure the historical heritage of America is safe” T´challa gives him a pointed look, and Loki rolls his eyes. Tony gets the feeling Loki will shoplift something out of the giftshop just to plant it in their stuff.

“Steve?” Wanda calls softly, taking the sketchbook from Loki´s stretched hands. She flips through pages that were blank yesterday and are now filled with elaborately rendered pencil portraits. “It´s all empty. You can come out”

At first it looks like he won´t, like the guards will come to find them all staring at the pages like a bunch of idiots and ask them to leave for annoying the other museum visitors,. Then, a hand pokes out of a sketch of Natasha´s gravestone in Tony´s backyard.

“Hey” Tony greets when the ghost pulls himself out, coming to float carefully out of sight. “Those are nice”

Steve´s cheek darkens. “I draw when I´m nervous” he explains. “I´m sorry.” he then looks around expectantly, but the room is no more or less full than it was a second ago.

“No need. How are you?” Tony asks. Steve turns to him, and his face looks a tad confused.

“I´m…uh, good?” he tries. Tony can see the disappointment make its way into his features as he gives the room another once-over “He´s not here. I guessed as much” and Steve shrugs.

“Well duh” Peter2 calls. “We haven´t called him yet. Thought we´d give you time to come up with a cool one-liner to look dreamy”

Steve´s blushing again as the others chuckle. “He´s my best friend” he says sullenly.

“Nobody´s saying otherwise Steve” Tony smirks “But you guys were awfully touchy, for two men in the 40s” and then, as the ghost makes to dive into the sketchbook again to escape the teasing, he lifts an appeasing hand. “So? Are you ready?”

That stops Steve, and for a moment he looks as if the air has been knocked out of him. “I... “ he starts. He looks over at the jacket, threadbare but meticulously cared for, the carefully embroidered name proclaiming it to belong to Sgt. James B. Barnes, and his face goes through a series of emotions too fast for Tony to distinguish them all. “I´m ready”

Wanda nods, and takes a step forward.

Behind the human barrier created by the rest of the group, she reaches towards the folded jacket on its white pedestal and, after a second´s hesitation, lays her hand firmly on it, and closes her eyes.

“... Wanda?” asks Peter2 after a minute or two of silence. His twin frowns, and he inches closer towards him. “What´s goin on?”

Wanda opens her eyes. “He… doesn´t want to get out” she says, and her voice sounds confused.

Tony looks at Steve then, and if it´s possible for a ghost to be pale, he does. What calls his attention the most though, is the pain in his visible eye, and the way his lips curl into a half smile.

“I figured” Steve starts then with a chuckle. Tony sees a collective wince run through the group, and he knows he´s not the only one that realizes Steve´s a comment away from losing it. “It´s alright, I mean- He has the right to be angry, can we just…” He stops to clear his throat. The room has begun to go cold, and the lights aren´t quite flickering, but they´re dimmer than they should. The open doors reveal this phenomenon doesn´t extend to the rest of the museum. “Can we just go home?”

They wait a couple more minutes, but in the end it´s clear that this Bucky guy is a douchebag and not going to come out even when Steve sounds absolutely pitiful out here. Tony gives the jacket a disappointed glare and hopes it reaches the spirit inside somehow, before offering the sketchbook to Steve.

“I feel like playing Pictionary tonight. Anyone up for it?” Asks Sam, and the tension breaks a little. Steve smiles gratefully at him

“I´m in. I just-” he starts, before floating closer to the folded jacket. “I´m sorry Bucks. I should´ve been there.” he says, and turns to dive into the sketchbook.

That´s when a sudden current of cold air runs through the room and both entrances are slammed shut with a bang.

“ _That´s_ what you´re sorry about?!” and that angry voice is one Tony knows fairly well now. He turns to smirk at the newly manifested spirit, but is frozen in his place.

When he first saw Steve, he thought his chosen image was reflective of the way he´d died. Then, that he did it just for the aesthetic, Steve is an artist and it wouldn´t have been much of a stretch. It´s poetic, the punished, trapped ghost. Only the right side of a man clad in his torn army uniform.

Now, staring at the left half of James Buchanan Barnes, he´s not so sure.

“Bucky” is all Steve can says, and it sounds strained, like it´s the only thing he can invest his last breath on. 

“You´re an absolute _moron_ ” Bucky starts again, and he looks angry. The lights flicker on and off, and the air in the room is beginning to smell like gunpowder. 

Tony sees T´challa and Loki pulling Wanda and Peter2 behind them as Sam grips onto an agitated Redwing´s collar, and he does likewise with Peter1, who´s of course got his phone out and filming.

Steve takes a step forward dubiously, hand stretched in a placating gesture “I tried to get to you, I-”

“Steve you idiot, you could have LIVED” Bucky snaps, and there´s something odd in is rage, something unsaid in his eye. “You could have come back!”

“I wasn´t- I wasn´t going to leave you behind, I-” Steve tries again. The living are looking back and forth between the two ghosts like a macabre tennis match “I prom-”

“I was already dead Steve! You could´ve come back with Carter, had a gaggle of kids, _lived_ and instead you died for nothing, I…” the man buries his face in his hand “I never wanted you to die, you were-”

“I was with you” it´s Steve who interrupts now. A by his side, and he looks weak in a way the malnourished, asthmatic teen in Brooklyn didn´t. “I didn't want to come back without you”

It seems to freeze Bucky like a bucket of cold water, and the air in the room stills. The smell of gunpowder is still there, but it's mixed with turpentine and oil paint. It's hard to believe the guy's this dense, but then again Steve wasn't the most perceptive either.

Steve takes another step forward, encouraged by the apparent calm. He doesn't spare a single look for anyone else, and it kinda hurts but Tony can't bring himself to resent him. 

“This is the end of the line, Buck”

The lights go out entirely when Steve reaches out to touch the other ghost, and when they come back on it takes Tony a second to realize what happened.

Floating between them are not two half men, by one. It feels a little symbiotic if you ask Tony, but to each their own. It's the first time he's seen Steve smile fully, even if it's half a man he doesn't know.

Tony clears his throat. “We would've brought him earlier" he starts, and both ghosts -the ghost? This is weird- turn to look at him “but getting your name out of him was like pulling teeth”

The half that is Bucky laughs, and it's a strange sight, though not unseemly. 

“He's always been part mule” he says. 

“There's no accounting for taste mate” Tony smiles, and allows Peter1 to get out from behind him. “Thank you for your service and all that?”

Steve-and-Bucky shake their head with a smile.

“No. Thank _you_ ” they say with two voices. It's a little unsettling actually.

Then Steve’s side adds “We'll see you later. Make us wait though"

Tony nods.

This is how it ends, and for all that he saw it coming weeks ago he has no idea what to say. It's like closing your favorite book, knowing you'll never get to read it again. 

It's goodbye.

“Tell-” he starts, but his voice breaks, and he clears his throat before trying again. “Tell the others I said hi will you?”

Steve nods, then looks directly at the phone in Peter1’s hand, before turning pointedly to face Wanda.

“And thank you. You have released me from my penance on Earth, and I go now to a better place" he says loud clear, and dramatically. 

Tony can hear Bucky going “what the fuck was that?” As the conjoined ghost illuminates more and more, until it's too bright to see, and then it's gone.

The room is still and silent for a moment, and Tony knows he's not the only one that feels like he closed a chapter in his life.

Then there's a bang, and one of the doors gives in under the burly guard pushing it open.

“I'm going to have to ask you to leave” the poor, confused woman gasps out. 

They make it all the way out the museum before cracking up, and well, The should get a commendation for lasting that long.

\----

Everything feels off after that.

They drop the kids off, and there's no mention of a next time. They're ghost hunters, and there are no more ghosts.

They say bye to T’challa and Sam at the library, and Tony notices for the first time that the store so is new and doesn't read “Wakanda’s Mysteries Occult Books” anymore, but simply “Wakanda Books”.

They close the door after they enter, and the house is, for the first time in almost three years, silent. 

Empty.

Tony's all to aware that Loki's looking at him, that he's waiting for a cue to follow, but honestly he had no idea what to do. Is he supposed to just… go back? Live a normal life without playing board games with dead people, without ghosts interrupt his Netflix queue to tell him the dryer’s done running?

“I think” it takes an unfathomable amount of energy to start, but once he does, the rest flows easily enough. “There’s leftover Chinese from last night. Wanna have dinner?”

Loki pats his shoulder as he passes him on the way to the kitchen “Why don't you pick something to watch? I'll reheat it”

“Can you feed Freya?” Tony calls after him

“Don't push your luck” Loki’s sour voice comes back to him, and Tony grins.

This is not a life he's lived before, but it's not a bad way to start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're SO CLOSE GUYS!
> 
> I'll post the last chapter once I'm a bit more awake, you're all the best!


	6. Chapter 6

****

**Epilogue**

People die.

Tony, perhaps better than anyone, knows this. It never stops hurting when they leave, but it's always a relief to know there’s someone waiting for them on the other side.

Besides, life is less about the ends and more about what's in between, the years have taught him.

Life is more about the kids graduating, about Peter signing a formal contract with Stark industries.

Screaming bloody murder at a parking lot every Wednesday and Saturday until Peter _finally_ passes the driving test.

About Wanda and Peter asking him and T’challa to come with them to their fathers’ appeal hearing, and taking them and their mother out for dinner later because none of them know how to feel with the verdict.

It's about Loki adding a “shit my cat did today” section to his blog, and his texts about taking her to be put down every other afternoon, and then coming up from the workshop to find him sleeping on the couch with her.

About a wedding at a bookstore, and Pepper begging the groom's sister to _please_ come work at Star Industries for a season. About finding out that your asshole boyfriend’s partner in crime is actually your friend's problem cousin, and about Redwing walking the aisle with a basket of flowers in her muzzle.

It's about Sam flying again, with Rhodey as copilot, and the exhilarated expression in their faces once they touch ground again.

It's helping Balder move out to college, and holding Loki as he breaks down outside the dorms while you remind him that missing that huge chunk of his brother's life pales in comparison to him being a part of it now.

About Christmas nights at the house, and Pepper showing up unexpectedly with gifts for the kids that aren't so much kids anymore.

It's about having a family, even when he doesn't really know when or how he found it.

However, life _is_ about death sometimes.

Showing up to Sam and T’challa’s house with emergency wine and treats because Redwing couldn't get up that day and they need to say goodbye properly.

Making sure Loki and Balder eat and sleep after Frigga passes calmly one night and then eight months later when Odin follows.

It's a blood clot forming in Rhodey’s leg, and taking him away far too soon.

It's years going by, and feeling your body fail in simple ways. Needing reading glasses and feeling old as fuck then not too much because your partner thinks you look sexy.

It's putting sweet cat down when she gets too old to eat, and keeping her food bowl on the kitchen counter out of nostalgia, until a tiny stray kitten wanders into your garage and adopts you.

It's sitting next to Loki’s sickbed when he gets a bad pneumonia, seeing a blond head in the reflection of the mirror that clashed against the empty room, and knowing he's not gonna make it.

It's an illness wasting away at T’challa for years, until everyone is all but relieved to finally see him rest.

It's writing a will, and leaving the Mercedes to Peter, the house to Wanda and the company to Peter.

It's making sure Pawsmodeus will be taken care of, that Sam has everything he needs, that Pepper is comfortable.

In the end, it's laying on a hospital bed after a heart attack. Hearing voices of people that aren't there, and knowing they've come to pick you up.

It's waiting, clinging up _stubbornly_ to life until they can move Pepper here, and holding her hand in one of yours, and Peter’s in the other.

It's trying to say “don't cry Red”, and finding your voice has already moved on.

It's looking all around you, at the loved ones you've amassed, and saying goodbye with a last blink.

\----

Tony wakes up in his mother's arms.

He knows it instinctively, the same way one knows warm is warm and soft is soft, and he can't believe he ever forgot the scent of her perfume.

“Good morning dear” she says in her soft Italian accent. 

“There's an… interesting group of fellas, waiting for you” and his father's voice, how did he forget that too?! 

He opens his eyes to their faces and it's been so long…

“I've missed you” he says. As far as first words go, those aren't bad at all. Then, because he had to get it out, “I'm… sorry about Obbie”

His parents’ faces harden, and Maria tightens her hug protectively.

“We talked to him when he got here. About everything.” Howard says, no emotion in his voice other than disdain. “He's not invited”

Ah.

“We're so proud of you baby” his mother says into his hair. Tony allows himself to lean back against her and enjoy her warmth. It occurs to him that he hasn't felt it in over sixty years, and grown man or not that's way too long to go for without a mom. “We've been watching you, and you did so good”

“Some unorthodox choices. But all in all good ones, I'd say” his father adds. He sits by them and doesn't join the hug, but Tony can still feel his presence, and it's comforting.

They stay there for… a while. Tony doesn't know if it's been minutes or hours or days, doesn't know if those categories apply here. Doesn't even know where _here_ is.

In the end though, they get up, and it's as though a gate has opened.

“They're out!” Yells someone, and Tony's suddenly assaulted on all fronts.

First he feels Loki’s lips on his own, and just as he's getting back into the kiss -its been nine years damn it- Clint whistles and shouts and someone is tearing them apart

“Do that later!” Yells Thor, throwing his brother aside like a ragdoll, and fuck. Thor's hugs feel just as Tony imagined they would.

Clint is there with Kate, and they sandwich him between them in a hug of their own. 

“Your cat's out there with Lucky and Redwing” says Clint “she's a nasty one, how did you inject Loki's personality into her?”

“No monopolizing the newly dead please” and that voice, that soft, slightly nervous cadence… Tony pulls Bruce towards him. This time they get all the time they were denied on their first go around. “It's good seeing you Tony” says the scientist, patting him on the back shyly.

“You lived” Tony looks down when he hears a small voice by his waist. Natasha is wearing her white tutu and her braids, and she looks _happy_. That more than anything makes Tony feel alive again “I'm proud”

“I'm-”

“Had a good run eh?” Him and Bucky are not fused together here, and it feels almost uncanny, to see Steve's full face “how was it?”

“Crazy” Tony finally gets a chance to speak “Did you see the six weirdos invaded my house and lived there for years?”

“The nerve” Steve shakes his head in mock disappointment. “All's well that ends well though"

Tony smiles. Loki's found his place by his side again, and he rests a hand around his waist. “So what do we do now?”

“We wait. We've got time” says Rhodey on his other side, and when Tony turns to look at him, the leg braces are gone, and he's standing to his full height. “Other than that, we watch.”

T’challa pokes his head out a door, and Tony wonders if that door even existed a second ago.

“We can explain that later. Right now it's game night!” And he has a bottle of wine in one hand a a Monopoly box in the other.

Tony smiles.

“Dibs on the Ferrari"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh ending a multichapter always feels so loaded, like somehow it won't live up to expectations. 
> 
> Still, I hope you've enjoyed it! Your comments and kudos have kept me going for two years, I would've dumped this fic a while ago if not for the comments encouraging me to keep on!
> 
> Thanks all!


End file.
